RightBio Metrics was founded by father and son duo Robert Gilbert, MD, and Paul Gilbert, MD. Dr. R. Gilbert has been a practicing gastroenterologist since 1980. His son followed his footsteps into medicine, but chose the path to emergency medicine instead. Though the GI and emergency medicine fields are distinct specialties, the Drs. Gilbert found a common problem.
In the course of his time as an emergency medicine physician, Dr. P. Gilbert had treated patients with misplaced nasogastric tubes. Misplaced tubes can wind up in areas such as the sinuses or lungs, leading to further need of emergency care or possibly even death. Dr. R. Gilbert and his son conducted research and found that 2 percent to 4 percent of NG tubes can be misplaced – a startling amount given there were 12.6 million NG tubes places in the United States in 2012 alone. In 2005, the year the physician pair founded RightBio Metrics, pH was gaining acceptance as a valid method for NG tube placement verification, however there was no easy, safe and accurate way of using pH. "Verification is difficult to perform with pH strips," said Dr. P. Gilbert. "There was a need for a device with a much easier pathway to verification. We raised money and developed that device."
Today, the company has three staple products. The RightSpot pH Indicator provides gastric acidity verification for the placement of NG and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes. The RightSpot Infant pH Indicator is designed to ensure accurate NG feeding tube placement in infants through gastric acidity verification. The RightLevel pH Detector reads pH levels in critically ill patients' stomachs in an effort to aid clinical decision making.
The company began small; much of the initial investment money was raised through friends and family. The company's first product, the RightSpot pH Indicator was launched in 2013. The product was initially distributed through a third party, but the company's founders took on that role themselves. Now, several clinical studies and two new product launches later the company has signed on with a new distribution network. "I now have an acute awareness of the matrix of distribution, networks and purchasing," says Dr. P. Gilbert. "It makes it hard for the small company to get into the large hospital networks, but we are slowly getting there."
Today, the company is focused on increasing its sales and market share. The physician founders realize the process will be an uphill battle, but hope the clinical value of the products will create a compelling argument. "Gastrostomy tubes can unfortunately come out. In this case, a patient often has to be taken to the hospital emergency department to have a new tube put it," says Dr. R. Gilbert. "With our device this can be done in the office setting or an ambulatory surgery center." Accurate NG and PEG tube placement is an important part of quality care and avoiding errors undeniably saves healthcare dollars.