DFree

What DFree does

DFree Corporation is a Japanese digital health company founded in February 2015 (originally as Triple W Japan, renamed in April 2024) that has developed the world's first wearable ultrasonic sensor device for predicting urination timing. The core technology uses ultrasound waves to measure urine accumulation in the bladder, combined with accelerometer data to compensate for posture changes, with proprietary algorithms that analyze time-series patterns to predict optimal toileting windows. The product portfolio spans the 5th generation DFree Slim for individual consumers (DFree Personal, ¥49,800 one-time, Japan only), DFree HomeCare (designated welfare equipment under Japan's long-term care insurance with 1-3 co-pay), DFree Professional (centralized multi-resident management platform for healthcare and nursing care facilities on subscription/rental basis), DFree Ben (feces contamination prevention device using odor sensors, launched July 2024 and enhanced with skin care monitoring in December 2025), and the DFree HapPee Buddy initiative for children with developmental disabilities.

The company operates a dual B2B/B2C go-to-market: enterprise sales teams with regional account managers (East Japan, West Japan, Kyushu) sell DFree Professional and DFree Ben to nursing care facilities and hospitals, while DFree Personal reaches individual consumers through direct e-commerce with 1-2 week free trials. Revenue streams include one-time hardware sales (¥49,800 consumer unit), recurring monthly subscription/rental fees for professional deployments, and supplementary diaper and pad subscriptions (¥3,980/month per person unlimited plan). Distribution extends through government insurance subsidy channels (long-term care insurance and disability welfare services), dealer/reseller partners, and international subsidiaries (DFree USA in San Diego handling North America; European operations since 2019). DFree has accumulated 10,000+ individual users and 300+ facility customers, with cumulative funding of approximately ¥3.5 billion.

Recent strategic priorities include ecosystem integration (Paramount Bed's Nemuri CONNECT launched March 2026, Econavista's Life Rhythm Navi+ Dr. from February 2025), a capital alliance with hospital and elderly care operator Yucaria (January 2025), and active IPO preparation evidenced by a strengthening CFO function (CFO serves both DFree and DFree USA), corporate governance buildout, and ongoing capital raises including equity crowdfunding (¥410M in May 2025) and a private placement bond via Siiibo Securities (November 2025).

Name

DFree

Legal name

DFree株式会社

Website

https://dfree.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DFree Corporation develops the world's first wearable ultrasonic sensor device for predicting urination timing, serving Japanese nursing care facilities, hospitals, and individual consumers through its DFree Professional, HomeCare, and Personal product lines, with growing US and European presence and active IPO preparation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wearable Medical Devices

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Monitoring Wearables (ECG, BP, SpO2, CGM-compatible) (CRACAIAF)

Keywords

• Wearable bladder monitor
• Ultrasonic health sensor
• Elderly incontinence care
• Urination prediction device
• Nursing care technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. DFree Device Sales: One-time hardware sales of DFree devices (body-worn ultrasonic sensors). Pricing varies by model and generation, with current generation DFree Personal priced at ¥49,800 and earlier models at reduced introductory prices.
2. DFree Professional (Enterprise) Subscriptions: Subscription-based service for healthcare and nursing care facilities with monthly fees per device plus optional management platform access. Rental plans are also available for facilities preferring not to purchase hardware outright.
3. DFree Personal (Consumer): Individual consumer sales with optional rental programs. Government insurance subsidies (long-term care insurance) available for eligible users in Japan.
4. Diapers and Padding Supplies: Supplementary revenue from proprietary-brand absorbent products (DFree rehabilitation pads) offered to facility customers. Monthly subscription plans starting at ¥3,980 per person for unlimited pad usage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DFree develops and sells the world's first wearable ultrasonic bladder monitoring device that predicts optimal urination timing for individuals and care facility residents. The company manufactures IoT hardware that uses proprietary ultrasonic sensors to measure bladder fullness and proprietary algorithms to forecast excretion timing, paired with companion smartphone apps and a centralized facility management platform. Product variants target individual consumers (DFree Personal, DFree HomeCare), healthcare and nursing care facilities (DFree Professional), and fecal contamination prevention (DFree Ben).

Product overview

DFree offers a portfolio of IoT wearable medical devices centered on excretion prediction, primarily serving elderly care facilities (DFree Professional), home care users (DFree HomeCare), and individual consumers (DFree Personal). The core platform uses an ultrasonic sensor device worn on the lower abdomen to measure bladder fill levels and predict urination timing, transmitting data via Bluetooth to companion smartphone/tablet apps. The product line spans multiple generations (5th generation DFree Slim launched May 2025), an add-on feces detection device (DFree Ben, launched July 2024, redesigned December 2025 with skin care monitoring), and a child-focused initiative (DFree HapPee Buddy). DFree Professional provides facility-wide centralized data management across multiple residents, while DFree Personal and HomeCare serve individual consumers. The portfolio is unified by a shared data platform and companion apps (iOS/Android) that support excretion logging, trend analysis, and personalized care planning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DFree Personal: Personal use excretion prediction device for individuals with urination concerns.
• DFree Professional
• DFree HomeCare
• DFree Ben

Quantifiable outcome

• Diaper costs reduced from ¥100+万/month to ¥40-50万/month
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• COCOLON (重症心身障がい児の家族・支援者向けコミュニティ)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 November 2025Collaboration with COCOLON community for children with severe disabilities and their families. Joint events and experience programs combining DFree technology with plush toy characters for toilet training support. World Toilet Day 2025 joint initiative.
• 中日新聞パートナーズ (Chunichi Shimbun Partners)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2025Marketing partnership with Chunichi Shimbun newspaper's monitoring service program to recruit trial users for DFree HomeCare in-home care product. Leverages newspaper's reader network for consumer outreach.
• パラマウントベッド株式会社 (Paramount Bed)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 August 2025System integration development partnership with Paramount Bed's Nemuri CONNECT nursing facility monitoring system. Combines sleep/bed-exit data with DFree excretion timing predictions. Implementation completed March 2026 for enhanced nighttime care and fall prevention.
• 株式会社ユカリア (Yucaria)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Capital and business partnership for medical and nursing care business expansion. Yucaria operates hospitals and elderly care facilities in Japan, providing DFree with access to healthcare value chain and facility networks for accelerated market expansion and service quality improvement.
• エコナビスタ株式会社 (Econavista)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2024Business partnership for system integration and sales collaboration between DFree excretion prediction device and Econavista's Life Rhythm Navi+ Dr. senior monitoring system. Integration combines sleep/activity data with bladder monitoring for improved nighttime care, fall risk reduction, and staff workload optimization. Go-live from February 2025.
• 東京都港区coreOthers · 1 September 2024Municipal recognition as welfare equipment subsidy recipient under disability comprehensive support law. First recognition in Japan (April 2024), enabling subsidized access for disabled residents.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Broad incumbents

• TENA (Essity): Global leader in adult incontinence care under Essity. Directly comparable to DFree Professional's nursing care facility channel and competes for the same incontinence and elderly care budget, though TENA's core offering is absorbent products rather than sensor-based monitoring.
• Daio Paper: Japan's leading adult diaper manufacturer (Aprica, Attento brands) and a major channel partner/competitive threat for DFree. Multiple DFree sales leaders were hired from Daio Paper, and Daio's facility relationships overlap heavily with DFree's 300+ customer base.
• Unicharm: Major Japanese personal care company with Lifree and other adult incontinence brands dominating care facility channels. Comparable to DFree in serving the same Japanese nursing care segment and could easily integrate sensor technology into its absorbent product portfolio.
• iRhythm Technologies: Public wearable cardiac monitoring company (Zio patch) using sensor patches and proprietary algorithms for continuous physiological monitoring. Comparable to DFree in combining a wearable sensor with cloud-based diagnostic AI for chronic condition management.

Direct peers

• Withings: Consumer health wearables company producing smart scales, sleep monitors, and connected health devices. Comparable to DFree in building a connected biometric monitoring platform targeting health-conscious and chronic-condition consumers, though applied to different vital signs.
• BioIntelliSense: Continuous wearable health monitoring company focused on multi-parameter biometric sensors for clinical and remote patient monitoring. Closest US analogue in terms of wearable medical device architecture and continuous physiological data collection.

Others

• Paramount Bed: Japanese market leader in hospital and nursing care beds, and now a DFree system integration partner (Nemuri CONNECT). Comparable as a care-facility channel with overlapping customer base and emerging adjacent technology integration.

Emerging players

• Econavista: Japanese SaaS provider of elderly monitoring systems (Life Rhythm Navi+ Dr.) and a DFree system integration partner. Comparable as a care-tech vendor competing for the same facility budget and increasingly integrating with DFree for combined sleep/excretion monitoring.
• ScalaMed: Digital health platform focused on connected medication and care management for elderly and chronic patients. Tangentially comparable to DFree in delivering digital health solutions into care facility workflows.
• MediBeacon: Medical device company developing non-invasive fluorescent and optical sensor technology for kidney function and other physiological measurements. Comparable to DFree as a non-invasive physiological monitoring device company pursuing clinical and hospital channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dfree_j
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DFree