In Short:
Roeland Decorte grew up in a nursing home in Belgium and later faced a health scare when his father had undiagnosed heart issues. This experience inspired Decorte to create technology for better health monitoring. In 2019, he started a company aiming to develop continuous sensors integrated into clothing, to help detect health issues early and improve patient care.
Roeland Decorte’s journey began in a nursing home in Belgium, where he developed a keen ability to discern the early signs of mental decline in residents through subtle changes in their behavior. At the age of 11, Decorte witnessed his father, the owner and manager of the care home, experience alarming health issues characterized by frequent nighttime chest pains and a profound sense of dread.
After consulting two doctors who dismissed his father’s concerns as mere anxiety after a brief examination, the situation escalated. It was only after a comprehensive series of scans at a private hospital that a third doctor identified a critical condition: a small but dangerous hole between the heart’s left and right chambers. Had this condition gone undetected, it could have been fatal; his father was 39 years old at the time.
With this medical crisis averted, young Decorte shifted his focus back to academics. By 17, he achieved a remarkable milestone as the youngest Belgian to enroll at University of Cambridge. This early admission brought about unique challenges, including appointing his tutor as his legal guardian and implementing a system at the college bar to restrict his access to alcohol, which his peers freely enjoyed.
Over the next seven years, Decorte honed his expertise in ancient codebreaking, positioning himself for a promising future in academia or potentially an adventurous career reminiscent of an Indiana Jones-style relic hunter. However, the experience with his father’s medical neglect lingered in his thoughts. It raised a critical question: How could a life-threatening condition go unnoticed simply due to the fleeting nature of a brief medical examination? In 2019, without formal medical training but equipped with the confidence derived from his prestigious education, Decorte established a company aimed at deciphering a different kind of ancient code: the intricate rhythm of the human heart.
The healthcare sector is currently experiencing a boom in artificial intelligence advancements. However, progress is often hindered by a scarcity of comprehensive data. Physicians, under pressure to see many patients, can only gather information sporadically. While wearables like smartwatches can provide pulse measurements, they are inadequate for more precise diagnoses, primarily due to their distance from crucial organs.
With a goal to enhance accessibility to timely treatment for individuals like his father, Decorte aspired to create a technology capable of continuous and accurate health monitoring. He initially aimed to integrate sensors into clothing to allow individuals to track their health metrics independently. Subsequently, he ventured into designing an intricate exoskeleton equipped with sensors to monitor a wide array of health conditions. Though this concept garnered some interest from military sectors, it fell short of addressing the needs of everyday patients like his father. Reflecting on this phase, Decorte admitted, “I was very naive.” During a recent conversation in a quaint café in Mayfair, London, he recounted a challenging two years spent laboring in the confines of his spare room without tangible results. A significant hurdle he encountered was noise interference; achieving accurate readings required sensors to maintain direct contact with the skin amidst the typical movement of daily life.
