mHUB hosted Demo Day events on May 18th & 19th and welcomed investors and industry partners as they met with 9 medtech startups who entered the mHUB Accelerator program last November 2021. mHUB convenes a deep network of industry mentors and the regional investment community through it’s accelerator program, which breaks down the barriers early-stage hardware and hardtech companies face in prototyping and scaling their businesses.
Led by Executive Director, Heather Walsh, the 6-month MedTech program began with a focus on customer discovery, with the startups thoroughly investigating ‘the real problem’ and customer pain points, working to find a deep understanding of who the customer really is, and then validating assumptions and hypotheses to inform the product or service.
The startups then moved to rapid prototyping, with some fleshing out initial products while others designed the iterative generations of an existing solution. An important part of the accelerator focused on business and financial acumen and making sure the startups understood how to generate revenue. Each startup was matched with a designated mentor throughout the program to help define business and financial models, unit economics, and go-to-market strategy.
All of this resulted in nine Demo Day pitches that showcased these startups’ capabilities to address large, unmet needs with innovative solutions that will revolutionize the diagnosis and management of patient care.
Here’s a look at the 2022 MedTech Cohort and the progress they’ve made to date:
Walela
Walela is a medtech startup developing sensor technology that measures fetal heart rate and blood pH to improve fetal and maternal outcomes and reduce unnecessary c-sections. Through the mHUB Accelerator, Walela has gained approval from leaders in the field of fetal diagnostics, streamlined their device for FDA approval, and established clinical partners for trials. They have received additional investment from mHUB Accelerator Corporate Partners, Baxter and Edward Elmhurst Ventures, in addition to follow-on investment from the mHUB Product Impact Fund.
ProMedix
ProMedix worked through the mHUB Accelerator to engineer the miniaturization of their device – HydraSense, which provides a rapid, accurate, and noninvasive diagnosis for sepsis. Gaining the ability to create a wider product fit for a broader set of clinical market segments, ProMedix has received investment from mHUB Accelerator Corporate Partners, Baxter and Edward Elmhurst Ventures, as well as follow-on investment through the mHUB Product Impact Fund.
Ping
Ping is on track to build out its full product solution, a wearable device that capture the wellness information of seniors to drive up engagement and understanding between aging populations and their caregivers. Ping has successfully secured a corporate customer in senior living, and will be piloting across 10 facilities and 350 users this summer.
NXgenPort
NXgenPort, a medtech startup currently developing a device that maximizes remote care in cancer patients, is in a second year of a Collaboration Agreement with the Mayo Clinic for product development. Having received additional investment from mHUB Accelerator Corporate Partners, Baxter and Edward Elmhurst Ventures and follow-on investment through the mHUB Product Impact Fund, NXgenPort is working to combine proven chemo-port efficacy with microchip and sensor technology to monitor and report physiological measurements in vivo.
NovaXS
NovaXS has raised about $1M in capital from Baxter and institutional VCs to start their prototype improvement and distribution partnership negotiations, of which they have already signed Letter of Intents with 7 IVF centers in Southern California. Their medtech startup is developing Telosis, a needle-free medicine delivery platform that delivers biologics into the lymphatic system for applications such as gene therapy, oncology, muscular degenerative disease, and endocrinology while improving treatment compliance for medical providers.
Neursantys
Neursantys is preparing to launch an NIH-funded clinical pilot with vestibular aging experts at Johns Hopkins, leveraging NEURVESTA product prototype designs developed at mHUB. Their medtech, NEURVESTA, is a wearable medical device which detects neurophysiological impairments disrupting balance and gait. Their device delivers personalized neurostimulation to treat vestibular disruptions caused by aging, head impacts, and other medical conditions.
HIVE
Over the past 6 months, HIVE has redesigned their CloudConnect product based on customer feedback, working to create a smart IV line that monitors when patients take or forget to take their IV medication. Revising their medtech and building new prototypes to show how continuously sending data to clinicians will empower them to act quickly and prevent expensive readmissions, HIVE has received investment from mHUB Accelerator Corporate Partners Baxter and Edward-Elmhurst Health Venture Capital as well as follow-on investment through the mHUB Product Impact Fund. HIVE has also secured a clinical pilot to test CloudConnect with patients this year.
Equibands
Equibands, a medtech startup driven to restore independence for over 120 million worldwide living with hand tremors, is developing Minimize – a lightweight, non-invasive, and discreet bracelet designed to counteract hand tremors. In their time at mHUB, Equibands has been able to reduce the weight of the Minimize bracelet by over 35% while maintaining its efficacy. The team has is also developing Grip, the fingerless half glove that provides additional tremor relief. Both products can be combined together for even more dramatic results.
Bionode
Bionode, a medtech startup developing a smart contact lens system that rapidly reduces intra-ocular pressure in patients with glaucoma, has over the last 5 months developed two form factors of the product to meet patient needs. Bionode is in the process of expanding the team with additional engineering, clinical, quality and regulatory resources over the next 3 to 4 months.
Watch the 2022 MedTech Product Demos in the mHUB prototyping lab.
