Devices & Diagnostics, Hospitals, Startups

4 healthcare startups that could help people hurt in the Boston Marathon bombing

Many healthcare entrepreneurs start companies for the most altruistic reasons: to help. A family member […]

Many healthcare entrepreneurs start companies for the most altruistic reasons: to help. A family member who had Alzheimer’s motivated Elli Kaplan to found Neurotrack. Jared Heyman built CrowdMed after watching his sister search for three years for a diagnosis for her debilitating symptoms.

Four startups that have applied to be in the 2013 MassChallenge class have the same chance to help someone who needs a specific kind of care. Two of them are working on products to help people who have lost limbs, one is developing a new way to treat burns. Another is building a platform to coordinate care across many doctors.

Dr. George Velmahos, of Mass General, treated some of the people injured in the Boston Marathon bombings. He said the lower limbs of some patients treated there were so severe that they were considered “almost automatic amputees.”

Although these people are getting the best care now, these new companies will be able to help with long-term recovery and the years to come. If they don’t win a spot in the next MassChallenge class, I hope these startups find funding from another source to build their businesses.

Advanced Amputee Solutions

This startup is developing the I.E.P., a solution for limb pain in people with lower extremity amputations. The I.E.P. provides shock absorption for the cut end of the bone and the amputated limb to prevent complications, reduce lifetime insurance costs, and improve patient outcomes.

Benevolent Technology for Health
Many advanced prosthetic devices require a complicated manufacturing process that results in a non-adjustable device that does not accommodate for natural volume changes of the body throughout the day. This can lead to sores that cause immobility. The Beth Project has developed a patent pending prosthetic device that can adjust over the course of the day to provide a custom fit.

Keradermlab
This product is an alternative to skin grafts as a treatment for burns. KERADERM consists of 4×4in Skin-cell-coated sheets cultured from a healthy skin sample from the patient. It is a non-surgical treatment that heals more quickly and is cheaper than current treatments.



Lucirix
People recovering from losing limbs will certainly be seeing many healthcare providers as they recover. Lucirix is a platform that connects all care providers in a single place to allow continuous patient care across episodes and settings. The company’s goal is to “create a stronger relationship between community physicians and the hospital.” They should find a way to get patients and family members into that information loop as well.

MassChallenge will announce the 2013 class in early May.

Veronica Combs

Veronica is an independent journalist and communications strategist. For more than 10 years, she has covered health and healthcare with a focus on innovation and patient engagement. Most recently she managed strategic partnerships and communications for AIR Louisville, a digital health project focused on asthma. The team recruited 7 employer partners, enrolled 1,100 participants and collected more than 250,000 data points about rescue inhaler use. Veronica has worked for startups for almost 20 years doing everything from launching blogs, newsletters and patient communities to recruiting speakers, moderating panel conversations and developing new products. You can reach her on Twitter @vmcombs.

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