Future HealthTech Leaders Innovation Challenge Showcase
On September 9th, the Healthcare Education, Research, and Innovation Foundation (HERIF) partnered with MATTER to host the inaugural Future HealthTech Leaders Innovation Challenge. This event showcased five innovative startups working to identify solutions that improve care outcomes and address areas of health inequity.
Held both in-person at MATTER and virtually, the competition offered a $10,000 prize to the winner.
Pitching Founders
Bronwyn Bridges from PragmaClin Research Inc.
- PragmaClin Research Inc. is revolutionizing Parkinson's Disease management with PRIMS, an innovative remote management system that leverages 3D camera technology and AI for precise symptom tracking. Our mission is to transform healthcare and dramatically improve the lives of those affected by Parkinson's Disease. Join us in pioneering a brighter future for patients worldwide.
Angel Enriquez from Emboa Medical
- Emboa Medical is using nature-inspired design to develop a novel blood clot extraction device to address the prevalent issue of stroke, the second leading cause of death in the world.
Malvina Del Salvo from Plateful LLC
- Plateful helps create good habits, reduce pickiness and preventative lifestyle diseases by gamifying nutrition education. Plateful reaches children earlier, right when habits are forming. Plateful provides nutrition literacy at the youngest of ages and fostering food as medicine.
Lori Ebenstein from inclusive+
- inclusive+ improves healthcare for LGBTQIA+ patients through personalized clinician training and increased patient access to care.
*Winner* Samantha Barry-Menkhaus from Monark Health
- Monark Health is a digital behavioral health treatment program for children and adolescents with medical conditions and health concerns. Monark provides live video therapy enhanced by personalized electronic tools and integrated coordination with the medical team to improve health symptoms. Their mission is to equitably expand the reach of trained pediatric psychology specialists and evidence-based interventions.
Key Takeaways
- Judge Q&A: This continues to be my favorite part of each event. The judges ask pointed questions that often reshape my understanding of the companies. Their insights made me rethink where I'd invest.
- Tangible Solutions to Big Problems: While the scale of health inequities is daunting, these startups prove that impactful solutions are on the horizon—solutions that are both innovative and actionable.
- Breaking Down Complex Problems: Despite addressing complicated healthcare challenges, each founder made their solution approachable and easy to understand. Their ability to distill complexity into clear, engaging pitches was impressive.
Investment
inclusive+ stood out with a well-thought-out strategy for utilizing the prize money to further their mission of improving healthcare for LGBTQIA+ patients.
Watch the full recording here.
