Adelaide-based startup Corcillum was founded with a bold vision – to prevent one million heart attacks by 2050. We spoke with CEO and Co-Founder Harry Carpenter about how ANDHealth+ will help them reach this goal, balancing academic and commercial hats, and keeping Australia’s digital and connected health ecosystem internationally competitive.

Tell us about your company and the problem you're trying to solve.

Corcillum’s software analyses standard angiogram images and creates a three-dimensional map for cardiologists to assess how coronary arteries are functioning – allowing for more personalised treatments and improved outcomes without any extra invasive wires or drugs. In comparison, the current tools are invasive, cumbersome, expensive and time consuming, so they are used in less than 10% of cases despite being recommended by major guidelines.

Our approach aims to remove these major pain points and barriers to adoption by giving cardiologists advanced coronary analytics and digital twin modelling from the first few standard images they acquire.

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Why did you apply for ANDHealth+ and what are you hoping to achieve through the program?

Applying for ANDHealth+ was a no brainer for us. It matched Corcillum’s stage as a company and addressed our most pressing needs upfront. We are looking for hands-on assistance with some critical pieces of work that will help grow Corcillum to the next stage, and that is exactly what the program is slated to deliver.

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How will your technology help improve health outcomes, system efficiency or patient experience?

Many people have chest pain even when a standard scan of their heart shows their arteries look clear. Others have narrowing that may or may not actually need treatment. This means they can be sent home without a real answer and often end up back in hospital.

Our software looks at the routine angiogram cardiologists already take and, within minutes, brings together the three things that guide treatment decisions: whether a narrowing is serious enough to need stenting, how well blood is flowing through the heart's smallest vessels, and what the plaque lining the arteries is made of, all without any extra wires or drugs. That means cardiologists can find the real cause sooner and start the right treatment, instead of time-consuming invasive wires, repeat tests and return visits.

For the health system, it saves time, avoids extra use of disposable wires and aims to reduce readmissions. For patients, it means a clear answer in one visit, with less worry. And because the software shows their arteries as an easy-to-follow visual, they can actually see and understand what's happening in their own heart and why their treatment makes sense.

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What have been the biggest challenges in developing or scaling your solution to date?

Where to start?! Capital. Financing early-stage medtech has been extremely challenging especially with the current capital environment. I had to shift my mindset as a technical founder who came from an academic background to finding the true commercial value proposition that will ultimately help the company and its shareholders realise an exit. These academic and commercial hats rarely agree.

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What has been your most valuable lesson as a founder so far?

An A-grade team and commercial strategy with B-grade technology beats A-grade technology and B-grade team and commercials every time. That, and you must be looking internationally from day one. It may seem too soon but the sooner you get overseas to see what the rest of the world is doing, the better.

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What changes will better support digital and connected health companies to scale and succeed?

First, a willingness to pay for speed in Australia, not just ultra capital efficiency. The digital realm is moving too fast to wait months for grant outcomes or chip away piece by piece with small investments. Once you have a validated problem, a basic product MVP and early commercial validation (whether that is regulatory, reimbursement, pilots etc.), speed is a critical asset that I don’t think the Australian ecosystem is set up to deliver in medtech.

Second, government and policymakers with an appetite for risk during procurement. The model of companies having to leave Australia to get traction then come back home once a solution is mature must change if we are going to continue to build an internationally competitive digital and connected health ecosystem.

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What's something the sector may not know about you?

I used to race for Australia in road cycling. It’s actually what put me on this path, after I underwent angiogram procedures twice before I was 24 to fix some problems with my own heart.

These days, I’m an avid woodworker and make my own wooden bowties. My longer-term project is making an acoustic guitar – I just need someone to teach me how to play it once its finished!

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ANDHealth is supported to deliver the ANDHealth+ program by the Australian Government through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) 2024 BioMedTech Incubator Program.

Applications for the next intake of the ANDHealth+ program are expected to open in August 2026.

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