Anemia, a condition in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to insufficient amounts of hemoglobin, affects roughly a third of the world’s population, threatening long-term health. But what if managing this “silent killer” was as easy as downloading an app? That’s where NiADA by Monere comes in.
Mou Nandi, co-founder and CEO of Monere, developed NiADA (non-invasive anemia detection w/artificial intelligence) to change the world’s approach to anemia detection. Founded in Lehi, Utah, it offers a novel solution utilizing AI for health monitoring. She is enrolled in the Master of Business Creation (MBC) program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business to grow the business.
Nandi started her career as an engineer working on other startups, but when two of her friends became ill with anemia, she knew she needed to pivot.
Having prior experience in the health industry, she gathered a highly qualified team and released the first version of NiADA in December 2023. This non-invasive, point-of-care, real-time solution successfully leveraged AI for real-time health monitoring. The solution uses a smartphone app to capture and analyze an image of the inner part of your lower eyelid.
“There is no good way to monitor anemia right now, so we are providing an integrated way to both screen and monitor,” Nandi said. “With anemia, the highest concerns fall among women and children as it damages brain development, causes a higher risk of disability, and can lead to significant loss of income in their lifetime.”
Nandi’s entrepreneurial drive led her to join the MBC program where she sought out the opportunity to be in a very structured program. Tailoring specifically to her needs, she appreciated that the MBC does not follow a general curriculum for all businesses, and rather her curriculum catered directly to NiADA’s goals and challenges. A strong board of mentors helped Nandi and her team to gain the advantages from professors’ first-hand experiences with their own startups.
“There is an impressive badge of professors and mentors, all of whom have their own startups. Every week I see great things from the founders they help. It helps to know that they have experience in this field and that is what we learn from.”
The MBC has proven critical to Monere’s growth. “We are a global company, but we’re still rooted in Utah, and I enjoy feeling like an accepted member among other company founders and entrepreneurs here,” Nandi said. “I needed to be able to reach the local Utah health and CDC authorities so that I could get exposure to the local area.” This exposure through the MBC led her to discover even more ways to grow and expand.
Driven by her commitment to brand exposure, Nandi led NiADA to be one of just 30 awarded companies out of 2,200 in the 2024 Global Health Equity Challenge through MIT Solve. Nandi said the opportunity will open many doors for them, as they are receiving nine months of support through mentorship, coaching, connections with customers, and funding. “It just felt really good to be around people who, like us, are motivated to solve these global issues,” Nandi said.
“With a projection of one million in testing this year, NiADA stands out as being more scalable than anything on the market due to its software-based nature,” Nandi said. By harnessing software as a medical device, NiADA ensures that everyone has access to an affordable and easy-to-use solution.
NiADA is currently available for download on the Google Play Store and Apple Testflight. For more information visit monere.ai.
NiADA uses AI to help detect anemia.
