Health Care Originals, Inc. (HCO) is an upstate New York start-up commercializing patented University of Rochester technology. HCO develops products for the management of chronic respiratory diseases. HCO’s first product, ADAMM, with its three-part solution comprising a wearable, smartphone app and web portal, will benefit the 300 million people globally who have asthma. ADAMM provides Intelligent Asthma Management^TM —automating management, increasing adherence and identifying precursor symptoms much earlier – giving caregivers peace of mind and improving asthmatics’ quality of life.

We’ve been recognized globally as an innovator in the field of wearables, and have been called disruptive health care tech. A unique, innovative product must, of necessity, have taken a different path.

ADAMM started in 2009, in the mind of co-inventor Dr. Hyekyun Rhee, based at the School of Nursing, University of Rochester, in upstate New York, USA. Dr. Rhee’s program of research focuses on improving asthma outcomes in adolescents. Since 2003 she’s worked on 10 studies with this focus. She’s also been lead or co-author on 33 papers in this space, and made over 16 presentations on asthma. That wealth of experience was unique enough, but in an exemplary demonstration of inter-disciplinary cooperation, she then started working with co-inventor Mark Bocko, Distinguished Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA. Aptly, Professor Bocko is also Technical Director, the Center for Future Health. Together, they did a series of 3 studies, involving more than 84 adolescents, and developed this proprietary technology that was patented in July 2014.

How do you make something truly disruptive that challenges the status quo? Assemble a team that’s just a little different – very competent, but characterized by thinking beyond traditional boundaries. We are very well equipped to fulfil the promise of our technology. However, we want you to get to know us better.

So, picture this: August 2013 – a bright summer day in Rochester, NY (we didn’t yet understand how rare that was!) – Ran, Prinson and Sharon, newly enrolled in the MS Technical Entrepreneurship and Management (TEAM) program at the University of Rochester, meet for the first time. A unique program featuring interdepartmental disciplines between engineering and management, TEAM’s focus is preparing entrepreneurs to launch high-tech start-ups. Within a few weeks, the team came up with guiding-light principles for all future projects together – always have fun; always be open; always be honest.

Fast forward a few months later, and the team, now with the addition of Jared, coalesced around ADAMM – an asthma solution so unique that we just had to bring it to market. Sharon, an asthmatic from birth, uniquely understood the power of this solution.. In September 2014, we were awarded an exclusive license to this technology.

Many awards, much recognition, and several late nights later, we remain energized and passionate about the prospect of making a meaningful difference in so many lives – with Intelligent Asthma Management™. And we haven’t forgotten our guiding principles – we still have fun, we’re open to suggestions and are always honest. In that spirit, we’ve included some fun facts about us in our profiles.