SurgiQ makes clinical care processes more effective, less invasive, and easier on patients, their families, and healthcare teams. It does that by achieving targets and allowing efficient scheduling for both surgical and non-surgical patients.

SurgiQ provides real-time tracking and patented Artificial Intelligence tools with the ability for dynamic reporting and planning of the patient’s entire care pathway.

Personal Background

“I’m a bioengineer by training with a PhD in biomedical informatics – at that time, they weren’t talking much about ‘digital health’,” shares Ivan Porro, CEO and Founder of SurgiQ.

At the company, Ivan is lucky enough to drive a team of passionate people, and his role is to bring in new business ideas and partnerships while they make the last one real. Mr. Porro admits that this is sometimes a bit challenging, but it’s part of the game.

What Keeps the CEO at Night?

“We’re creating something that helps hospitals not only treat more patients but also treat them in a better way,” says Ivan Porro.

When you personally experience losses because of healthcare inefficiency, you are probably more on a mission rather than in a business.

That’s why SurgiQ’s team helps healthcare workers help others. Since team members agree on such key fundamental values, then everything else becomes easier.

What Problems Does SurgiQ Solve, and What Makes It Unique?

“We provide hospitals with a technology, based on artificial intelligence techniques, which automates tasks such as planning and scheduling,” explains Ivan Porro.

With SurgiQ’s system, hospitals save a ton of time in planning next-day activities, and they can do it day-by-day according to the actual resources and staff they have.

The key point is not to provide an ideal model, but to be able to seamlessly adapt to every day’s changing needs.

Beginning of Entrepreneurial Journey and Current Status

“I’d say we’re halfway. We started in 2016 with a first version of the software to improve pathway tracking in elective surgery, which means non-urgent ones, those that can be booked,” shares Ivan Porro.

The second step was to implement a technology that not only provides real-time tracking but also real-time planning.

The next step, which is already initiated, is to add several clinical domains to the surgical one and become a platform to plan healthcare at any scale.

Client Success Story

“For sure that’s ICS Maugeri, a large rehabilitation provider in Italy. They own 16 hospitals,” proudly says Ivan Porro.

SurgiQ started with a proof of concept in 2020 and developed and released the product fully remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, ICS Maugeri is planning more than 30,000 treatments per month across four hospitals with SurqiQ’s AI, with many more launching in the next months. As a result, the rehabilitation provider is saving more than 20’ per physiotherapist per day.

Biggest Achievements

“Commercially and technically speaking, ICS Maugeri is both a great example of technical scalability and product validation with 12,000 accesses per month from their users,” explains Mr. Porro.

In terms of validation, both national funds – such as Cassa Depositi e Prestiti through CdP Venture SGR, and international organisations, like EIT Health – recognised SurgiQ’s value and supported their growth.

Tipping Point That Made the CEO a Doer

“I’ve personally been a grant proposal writer and project manager for many years before becoming the CEO of SurgiQ. I’ve seen so many research projects ending in beautiful prototypes but without having any real impact,” shares Ivan Porro.

R&D is important. It fuels innovations. That’s why SurgiQ’s team is currently financially supporting a joint research lab at the University of Genoa. However, technology transfer and impact measurement must play a primary role.

Future Impact of SurgiQ

The company is already making a difference today.

ICS Maugeri calculated that with SurgiQ’s system, they can deliver 10’ of more care to every patient every day. This translates to a whopping 3.3 million minutes potentially in their 16 hospitals.

Now, imagine what SurgiQ can generate in a whole country or on an entire continent!

Connection with InvestHorizon

“First, it allows us to learn from others – not only from advisors but also from our peers. This is important as we, entrepreneurs, are in the same boat and can quickly exchange effective ideas, e.g. on specific market entry issues,” says Ivan Porro.

“Then, of course, there’s the training. One should never stop learning and improving. And lastly, there’s the access to investors, which has two main benefits: 1) Any new investor listening to our pitch is potentially useful feedback to improve our product; 2) And maybe a ticket in our Series A,” concludes Mr. Porro.