The Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University (ASU) announced the selection of six startups for its inaugural cohort of the MedTech Accelerator, including startups focusing on artificial intelligence and remote patient monitoring.

WHO MADE THE CUT

San Francisco-based GYANT combines messaging, artificial intelligence (AI) and medical experts, including a team of providers and machine learning experts, to improve the diagnosis and treatment of conditions that are not urgent.

Hexoskin produces a wearable shirt for in-home rehabilitation that contains embedded sensors and uses AI and analytics from collected biometric data to connect to a remote patient monitoring platform.

A third upstart, BioInteractive Technologies, produces wearable device and protocols for hand and wrist therapy for sports medicine rehabilitation, including the Tenzr device.

Securisyn produces a medical device that provides airway stability for ventilated patients to prevent unplanned extubations, which can occur when a patient or other external force pulls an inadequately stabilized breathing tube out of the airway.

Also among the inaugural accelerator class is the developer of sexual health application Safe, which provides low-cost testing, information sharing and relevant wellness education.

The app allows patients to consult with sexual health specialists, find and book STD testing, and access a trusted source for clinical information.

The sixth startup, Life365, is an Arizona-based remote patient monitoring company that currently offers a range of solutions to engage health consumers at home, including a patented operating system for wearable health technology, software apps and integration to hundreds of connected medical devices.

WHAT ELSE TO KNOW

The accelerator kicks off with an immersion program April 22–May 3 at Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus with ongoing activities that can be done remotely, and the accelerator will be completed within six to 12 months, with incentives offered to participants to stay and work in Arizona.

The accelerator provides medical device and healthcare IT early stage companies with personalized business development plans to collaborate with Mayo Clinic and ASU and accelerate go to market and investment opportunities.

The program aims to help participants develop or optimize products and services, license intellectual property and sponsor research/clinical studies through individually tailored development plans.

The accelerator also offers a medtech entrepreneurship curriculum, idea mentoring and customer interactions within the health care ecosystem.

In February the Mayo Clinic joined a consortium of eight health care and research organizations in the U.S. and Canada, including the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, to launch the Medical Genome Initiative.

The initiative will work to expand access to clinical whole genome sequencing (cWGS) for the diagnosis of genetic diseases, with a focus on the publication of common laboratory and clinical best practices for the application of cWGS.

ON THE RECORD

"Mayo Clinic is excited to collaborate with ASU and six companies to develop next-generation medical technologies and services that improve patient care," Timmeko Love, managing partner of the accelerator, said in a statement. "Through focused business development and interactions with the Greater Phoenix entrepreneurial ecosystem, this program will create strategic alliances that rapidly commercialize healthcare technologies resulting in a global impact."

Nathan Eddy is a healthcare and technology freelancer based in Berlin.

Email the writer: nathaneddy@gmail.com

Twitter: @dropdeaded209 

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