Health IT

A healthcare pitch competition in the works with space station as possible destination

Some of the most cutting edge healthcare technology has been spurred by space exploration. At […]

Some of the most cutting edge healthcare technology has been spurred by space exploration. At the South by Southwest Interactive conference this week,Johnson Space Center director Ellen Ochoa, also a former astronaut, announced plans for a pitch competition for healthcare entrepreneurs interested in getting an audience with the aerospace industry.

The Launch Health Space Innovation Challenge will be held at the SpaceCom Conference and Expo in November. The application process and vetting criteria are still being worked out but it will be organized by Energizing Health, in cooperation with Johnson Space Center in Houston. Energizing Health is a nonprofit founded by Brian Lang, who also put together the Impact Pediatric Health Pitch competition at SXSW.

Houston Business Journal reported that one potential outcome of the competition is to allow the winning project to be used at the International Space Station, citing said Steve Gonzalez, NASA’s deputy for Strategic Opportunities and Partnership Development.

The idea is to assemble a group of entrepreneurs interested in tackling healthcare challenges astronauts would experience but that are also relevant to people with both feet on planet earth.

NASA is no stranger to technology pitching events. Next month it is putting on the fourth installment of International Space Apps Challenge, a three-day code-a-thon held at 135 sites worldwide, including New York.  Participants develop mobile applications, software, hardware, data visualization tools that could support space missions. Astronaut Cady Coleman and NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan will participate in a women in data event at the main stage in New York this year.

 

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