Chattanooga’s Co.Lab hosts inaugural event for healthcare innovators from Salt Lake City to Nashville.
by Morgan Dent, Talent Program Manager, LaunchTN
The atrium at Unum’s Chattanooga headquarters hosted more than 100 attendees for HealthTech Demo Day in June, capping Co.Lab’s inaugural 10-week HealthTech accelerator. Among the guests were corporate partners Erlanger and Unum, along with a variety of ecosystem members from Co.Lab alumni to investors and corporate partners.
Here’s a quick look at participating companies:
VendRx, from Salt Lake City, offers a prescription vending device. The machine drastically reduces wait times to pick up prescriptions and also collects customer health data points during pickup. The company is currently looking for $500,000 in capital investment.
Rhinogram offers a way for patients to text with their doctor’s office and receive timely responses instead of playing phone tag. The unique feature here is complete HIPAA compliance and no application or portal login needed — you simply text from your mobile device.
PreTel, named for pre-term labor, has created a fetal health-monitoring system. Based in Atlanta, PreTel uses sensors attached to the mother’s belly combined with data analytics to identify false labor and monitor various other data points.
MedX Services has created an automatic pill dispenser box that feeds out a packet of various pills needed either daily or at certain times of the day. The device, which includes a touch screen to collect data, helps with medication adherence and is targeted toward assisted-living facilities and seniors living at home.
Medical Search Technologies leverages AI and deep learning technology to better use information in electronic medical records. Instead of having to search a patient’s record manually, MST can pull information directly for practitioners.
Nashville’s Healing Innovations pitched a physical therapy device that helps people learn to walk again after serious injury or other trauma. The device decreases the number of needed physical therapists from four to one. The company plans to pilot in Q4 of 2019, and will also raise a $1.5M capital round.
And finally, Canopy Innovations from New York City seeks to mitigate the language barrier in healthcare, and therefore reduce resultant medical errors. Thanks to the HealthTech accelerator, the company secured a pilot with Erlanger and plans to open a Nashville office in 2019.
Healthy additions to the Tennessee innovation ecosystem
Overall, the Co.Lab HealthTech group includes promising companies, all of whom demonstrated traction during their presentations and post-pitch conversations.
The partnerships established by Co.Lab with Unum and Erlanger were key to the success of this cohort. A common takeaway from each of the startups was the level of engagement from corporate partners and the Co.Lab team, offering critical expertise and mentorship.
LaunchTN is thrilled that these startups are engaged in our statewide ecosystem. We’re looking forward to working with our network and community of supporters to help them succeed.
For information on LaunchTN resources and our statewide network partners, visit our website.
