Transforming health is hard enough on the blue planet, but some entrepreneurs are hoping that their newfangled innovations will work for astronauts in space.
Some of them participated in a quickfire pitch session on Saturday as part of a panel at South by Southwest in Austin moderated by Dorit Donoviel, who runs the NASA-funded Translational Research Institute for Space Health.
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Here are a few of those that pitched:
Cossinuss
Based in Germany, this startup makes in-ear sensors that monitor vital signs continuously. They sit inside the ear canal to monitor signs like heart rate, core body temperature, blood-oxygen saturation and in combination with an ECG strip, it can also track blood pressure.
iAssay
Located in San Diego, this diagnostics company makes a small diagnostic device meant to be used at home. The device has 129 approved tests that require body fluids such as urine or blood and eliminates the need for multiple readers to read the tests.
Motiv
Instead of monitoring through wrist-worn trackers, this San Francisco company makes the Motiv ring that can monitor heart rate and sleep and unlike other wearables can last a long time on one charge. Full charge is achieved in two hours.
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Sencetech
The company’s website talks about being able to track emotion for improved well-being through the SenceBand. But at SXSW the company’s c0founder described a working prototype of a wearable able to track and measure blood pressure noninvasively around the clock.
After hearing the above and a few more companies present, the well-known entrepreneur and angel investor, Esther Dyson, stressed that the success of wearables hinges on a few things.
“Things like charging [and battery life] really matter a lot,” Dyson said.
But neither Dyson nor William Cohn, who leads Johnson & Johnson’s Center for Device Innovation in Houston, were not too impressed with the startup pitches.
The lone exception being Motiv, which drew Dyson’s attention. After the pitches and the Q&A session ended, Dyson pulled out her notebook to take notes as she talked with Mike Strasser, the company’s co-founder and chief product officer.
Photo: fandijki, Getty Images
