Peerbridge Health is a company that is transforming remote healthcare with an advanced AI-driven ECG platform that helps people with chronic illnesses live longer and healthier lives. Recently, it was announced that Peerbridge was named Best New Technology Solution for Cardiology in the 9th annual MedTech Breakthrough Awards. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Peerbridge Health CEO Chris Darland to learn more about the company.
Chris Darland’s Background
What is Chris Darland’s background? Darland said:
“I joined Peerbridge Health as Chief Financial officer in 2022 and became CEO in 2023. Before joining the Peerbridge team, I spent 13 years in various executive roles at GE, both in and outside healthcare. These other verticals included transportation, oil & gas, entertainment, consumer and capital markets. Immediately prior to Peerbridge, I was vice president of finance for Ecolab’s Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Group. I have a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Miami University and spend most of my non-work time with my wife, three children, and our dog.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Darland shared:
“Peerbridge Health was founded in 2012 by Dr. Angelo Acquista, a leading pulmonologist based in New York City. While Dr. Acquista cared for his elderly father in the hospital, he watched his dad struggle with even the most mundane tasks while wearing traditional monitoring equipment. The many wires made a difficult situation even more difficult and Dr. Acquista worried about the overall quality of health data.”
“He made it his mission to find another solution for patient monitoring, one that ensures the highest quality of health data collection, from anywhere and at any time. Dr. Acquista designed the Peerbridge Cor, a 3 lead ECG device focused on cardiac monitoring and arrhythmia detection with the highest signal fidelity in the market.”
“In 2023, the company combined the Cor ECG output with explainable AI and advanced signal processing to expand the capability and clinical utility of remote ECG. The technology is now completing trials to detect Heart Failure, estimate ejection fraction and diagnose sleep apnea, among dozens of other diagnostics. The all-in-one utility of a simple device allows for thousands of dollars of hospital grade tests to be done inexpensively anywhere in the world.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory of working with the company so far? Darland reflected:
“Growing up in large companies, big risks are hardly ever on the table. Steady growth is rewarded and isn’t a bad strategy for a $50B+ company. At Peerbridge we made a company-defining bet in early 2023 that we could take remote diagnostics to the next level. If we were right, most importantly millions of people would live happier, healthier lives. Of course, our investors would be rewarded as well.”
“Getting the call from our Innovation leader with results of our initial Feasibility trials is a call I’ll never forget. I was at a school open house with my son and he was the first to know that wasn’t a Peerbridge employee. Knowing we had the technology in our hands to save lives made all of the long hours worth it. It was only the beginning and now our work every day is to get it to market as quickly and safely as possible.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Darland explained:
“The Peerbridge Health AI-based solution offers a seamless remote cardiac monitoring option with less expense, reducing patient burden and enabling more frequent assessments. One million Americans will be diagnosed with heart failure this year, 800,000 of whom will learn about their condition only after visiting an emergency department. Sadly, less than half of these people will survive more than five years.”
“Patients wear our FDA-cleared Peerbridge CorTM monitor, a 3-lead, 2-channel wireless ambulatory electrocardiograph (AECG) with a patented Einthoven triangle design and proprietary algorithm to compute derived 12-lead, or hospital-grade, ECGs. That simplifies the testing and diagnostic process for some of the most critical and chronic health conditions facing cardiac patients today.”
“Our cloud analytics then process the ECG signal against explainable AI markers for hospital-grade indications for heart failure, ejection fraction, sleep apnea, etc.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Darland noted:
“In addition to increasing the accuracy of our software platform and improving the design and comfort of our Peerbridge Cor remote wearable monitor, we have expanded our diagnostic capabilities to include ejection fraction (a measurement of the percentage of blood leaving the heart each time it contracts) and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), which measures stops and pauses in breathing during sleep, a critical measure for diagnosing sleep apnea.”
“While sleep apnea may sound like little more than an annoyance to some people, the condition leads to a 140% increase in a person’s risk of heart failure. Further, untreated obstructive sleep apnea leads to an at least 80% chance of atrial fibrillation.”
Biggest Milestones
What have been some of the company’s biggest milestones? Darland cited:
“In a 2023 feasibility trial, the Peerbridge platform was able to determine whether an individual patient had heart failure with 95.7% accuracy. Patients in the trial wore the Peerbridge Cor ambulatory ECG patch at home anywhere from three to seven days, leveraging five-minute windows of electrocardiogram signals.”
“Later in 2024, we announced the beginning of enrollment of our Ejection Fraction AI-enabled Clinical Trial (EF-ACT) to determine Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) severity. This is the first pivotal trial to study direct-from-ECG ejection fraction (EF) severity at this level of fidelity. The trial involves over 1,000 patients across multiple trial centers, including Northwell Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Mount Sinai Health System, LeBauer-Brodie Center for Cardiovascular Research at Cone Health and Orange County Heart Institute in California.”
“In January 2025, we announced the launch of the COR-INSIGHT Trial. The trial is the first to prospectively evaluate multiplexed on-demand diagnostics directly from continuous ECG in hospital and home settings, integrating data-rich metrics for 30+ different cardiac and cardiopulmonary indications. The trial will enroll up to 15,000 participants from diverse demographics, ensuring robust data that reflects real-world clinical challenges. In addition to Peerbridge sites, the company will also be partnering with the HeartX program to expand participation with leading cardiologists at HCAand Louisiana Cardiology Associates.”
“In March, Peerbridge announced Cor MDx, a complete reimagining of traditional ECG wearable patches. The device combines best-in-class signal fidelity and real-time multi-lead streaming and connectivity over BLE and LTE to offer a seamless, cost-effective solution for cardiac care. The technology delivers non-invasive cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary measurements to enable the 30+ indications previously announced in Peerbridge’s COR-INSIGHT trial. AT&T provides the IoT backbone for Cor MDx, enabling real-time data transmission, remote study reconfiguration, and seamless management over LTE, for optimal patient monitoring.”
Funding
When asking Darland about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“After raising about $10 million to transition the company strategy to Advanced Diagnostics, the intent is to proceed to full commercialization efforts in 2025. We anticipate raising an additional $5-10 million to support the re-launch.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Darland affirmed:
“For cardiac patients, the period from initial outreach to their primary care provider through an appointment with a cardiologist and testing to a confirmed diagnosis typically can take from 11 to 15 weeks. Peerbridge delivers accurate diagnostics in less than 30 minutes at a small fraction of the cost. This is a fraction of the cost of traditional diagnosis, which can run up to $10,000.”
“Further, our company believes that it’s time for the med tech industry to start putting patients and providers first. Artificial intelligence (AI) has accelerated innovation, enabling medical device makers to conduct research and development faster and support operational structures less expensively. AI tools today are doing things that in the past would have required large teams of people, so medical technology companies are at a unique inflection point regarding how much it costs to actually run their businesses. By passing these savings to the providers, we’re not only reaching more patients but will hopefully contribute to a desperately needed reduction on Healthcare costs in the U.S.”
Future Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Darland emphasized:
“Our goals are focused on patient impact through improving access and expanding research. Our COR-INSIGHT trial is a main focus at this time.”
“By offering this technology at a fraction of the current cost, we are targeting reaching millions of patients in rural and underserved areas that lack the time or resources for preventative cardiac care today.”
“In addition, we know reinvesting back into Diagnostics R&D supports a flywheel of clinician value and ultimately better patient outcomes.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Darland concluded:
“Yes. Our company is on a mission to save lives by offering affordable remote diagnostic tools to patients who need them, particularly those in vulnerable populations such as rural Americans, who may live hours from hospitals, clinics, and even primary care providers. Research data shows that rural Americans are 40% more likely to develop heart disease and are at a 30% higher risk of stroke than urban Americans.”
“Ensuring equitable access to care requires overcoming cost and connectivity challenges. Health providers can help reduce health disparities by offering less-expensive at-home solutions. AI and other emerging technologies allow us to provide care to those who need it most when they need it most, and at a reasonable cost.”
