LIO is the all-in-one platform for inpatient mental health, combining digital rounding, ambient monitoring and compliance reporting. With its contactless design and FDA-cleared software, LIO supports frontline teams and hospital leaders to make data-driven decisions – improving safety and efficiency while strengthening adherence to regulatory standards. Pulse 2.0 interviewed LIO CEO Todd Haedrich to learn more.
Todd Haedrich’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Haedrich said:
“I am a builder, an innovator, and have an unquenchable thirst for all things technology. I have founded, scaled, and led technology businesses for three decades, with the last twenty years dedicated to healthcare innovation. After earning my Computer Science degree from Bowdoin College and beginning my career in B2B software, I then went on to work at some of the most impactful healthcare technology businesses: GM at athenahealth, CCO at Covetrus, and as CEO of Optimize Health.”
“As CEO of LIO, I have three primary responsibilities: leading a fantastic team across the world to partner with our incredible customers to deliver on our goals of helping reduce risk, improve safety, and ensuring the highest standards of clinical excellence and regulatory compliance as we scale; building strategic partnerships with healthcare providers who share our vision for transforming inpatient mental health care; and making sure we build strong long lasting partnerships, especially focused on the US. I also work closely with our product development and our clinical advisory board to ensure our technology always reflects real-world healthcare challenges.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Haedrich reflected:
“For me, this work is deeply personal. Having experienced mental health challenges within my own family, I have firsthand experience with how self-harm can devastate lives and families. With our partners, the most meaningful moment came when one hospital reported that our platform enabled them to intervene and prevent 30 self-harm incidents in a single year. That singular data point validates our mission to transform care for vulnerable populations.”
In a nutshell, what does LIO do?
“We close the gaps in care and bring awareness to the critical moments that put safety and service integrity at risk.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector of work recently? Haedrich acknowledged:
“One of the biggest challenges across mental health care has been fragmentation – point solutions that only do one thing, tech that burdens staff instead of helping them, and data locked in silos that don’t talk to each other. The result is that clinicians struggle to get a full picture of what’s happening, while leaders are left too far removed from the realities on the ground to run effective services.”
“We listened carefully to providers who told us about exactly those pain points: I want to understand how my patients are really doing, I want a safer environment, I want data I can trust across the hospital. That feedback is what shaped LIO – our next-generation platform that brings everything together in one place. It creates awareness no team could achieve alone.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Haedrich noted:
“When we started out, our focus was on contact-free vital signs monitoring – a breakthrough in its own right – but over the years we’ve expanded well beyond that.”
“We introduced digital observations and safety alerting so clinicians have support around the clock, both during and between scheduled checks. We also added activity tracking and sleep monitoring to give a fuller picture of patient wellbeing. And we extended the platform with compliance insights, helping leaders stay on the front foot and make informed management decisions.”
“In short, what began as a single clinical tool has evolved into a whole-hospital platform – combining digital rounding, ambient monitoring and compliance reporting to support frontline teams and hospital leaders alike.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Haedrich cited:
“For me, our most important milestones have been about expanding what our technology can do, and expanding who it can help.”
“Achieving multiple de novo medical device clearances – including most recently FDA clearance for pediatrics – has consistently reinforced the clinical rigor behind our work. We’ve also secured 19 patents along the way, underscoring the originality and depth of our innovation.”
“On the impact side, we’ve built a strong body of peer-reviewed evidence showing measurable benefits in practice – including a 44% reduction in self-harm, 37% fewer assaults, and 50% faster nighttime Q15s. And our reach has grown dramatically: we now partner with half of NHS mental health trusts, our U.S. presence has scaled rapidly over the past year, and we’ve recently launched in Australia. Today, our technology helps prevent tens of thousands of incidents every year.”
Customer Success Stories
Can you share any specific customer success stories? Haedrich highlighted:
“What stays with me most are the stories of individual patients, because that’s where you see the real human impact. For example, one patient was in severe distress – aggressive, refusing medication and close to being transferred to a more secure unit. The team used LIO to reduce nighttime disturbances and help her sleep better, and within days she was getting eight to nine hours a night. That simple change transformed everything: her mood lifted, she began accepting medication, and eating and drinking well. In fact she was described as “smiling, dancing, and reconnecting with peers and family”. All this without needing 1:1 observation or physical interventions.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Haedrich affirmed:
“What sets LIO apart is that it’s completely contactless – patients don’t need to wear or do anything for it to work. It’s also an all-in-one solution: supporting clinical teams with every aspect of care, while giving hospital leaders the visibility they need to reduce risk, support their staff and manage services with confidence. And unlike many technologies that look good on paper, LIO has been proven in practice – with peer-reviewed evidence and real-world results showing meaningful improvements across a wide range of outcomes. Crucially, it’s not a generic system adapted for mental health – it’s been designed specifically for this unique environment, built over 15+ years of close collaboration with mental health care providers.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Haedrich emphasized:
“Our mission is to make mental healthcare safe, supportive and empowering for everyone – and that’s the north star for everything we do. Right now, LIO underpins daily care in inpatient mental health hospitals by supporting safety, compliance and clinical decision-making. Looking ahead, our goal is to move from being seen as a helpful tool to being recognized as essential infrastructure for every facility – something no hospital can imagine operating without.”
“And we’ll keep pushing forward by listening to the real-world needs of patients and clinicians, with the goal of making LIO a driving force in setting the future standard for mental health care.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Haedrich concluded:
“I’d emphasize that we’re at a pivotal moment for behavioral health. This industry has been underserved for too long, and we have the opportunity to accelerate innovation and completely transform how care is delivered and how services operate.”