MedCitizens

StartUPDATES: New Developments from Healthcare Startups

Check out news from Kismet Health, the University of California at Berkeley’s life science startups, and the companies presenting at the Consumer Technology Association’s pitch contest at CES.

Join Kismet Health on January 24 at 3pm ET for a 30-minute webinar, Integrating the Latest Evidence on Drawing into Pediatric Telehealth. This webinar will focus on research by Dr. Chethan Sarabu, of Stanford Medicine, on children’s drawings in a general pediatric setting. His paper entitled “Drawing Play: A Content Analysis of Children’s Drawings of Places Where They Like to Play,” was published in Children, Youth and Environments in 2023. The webinar will also discuss how to integrate research into the pediatric telehealth space and will conclude with a Q&A.

Objective: Participants can expect to learn more about the findings of this study, as well as how to integrate the power of drawing and play into a telehealth practice.

Audience: This webinar is designed for play and art therapists, behavioral therapists, pediatricians, other pediatric providers, and anyone interested in the well-being of children and using telehealth.

Panelists:

  • Dr. Chethan Sarabu, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Stanford Medicine
  • Dr. Cierra Gromoff, CEO and co-founder of Kismet Health
  • Dr. Arwin Cotas-Girard, Head of Clinical at Kismet

Register: https://bit.ly/kismet2024webinar

Kismet Health is the first pediatric telehealth platform designed for providers, by providers, to boost patient engagement, streamline workflows, and improve clinical outcomes for infants and children up to 18 years old. With Kismet’s proprietary technology and digital playroom clinicians can focus on what they do best —providing quality care to families everywhere, while enabling a cost-efficient and high standard of care.


The Berkeley Bio Startup Showcase at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference will spotlight 24 of the University of California at Berkeley’s life sciences startups on Tuesday, January 9, from 4 pm to 6 pm PST. Attendees can learn about the programs at Berkeley that helped to create the startups, and network with investors, strategic partners, alumni, and biotech enthusiasts. During the early evening reception, 10 startups will give quick-fire elevator pitches.

To register, click here.


The Consumer Technology Association will host its annual pitch contest at CES in Las Vegas on January 10. The focus is health tech and will include presentations from:

AAVAA: A brain-computer interface tech company that seeks to enable people to interact with devices through blinking, eye movement, and clenching. For example, the technology could help paralyzed users control their wheelchair, computer, smartphone and AAC devices without using hands or their voice.

Augmental developed a tongue-controlled interface it refers to as a “mouthpad”. The bluetooth-enabled tech allows users to control their devices such as a computer, smartphone, or tablet with their tongue. It is placed across the roof of the mouth. The mouthpad uses 3D printing, electronic encapsulation, and dental materials.

BeAware provides deaf assistance technology. Its deaf assistant app helps people who are deaf or hard of hearing to communicate with others through natural language processing tech and an interface that flips between the user and those with whom they communicate. The app can also read text out loud into the user’s live phone calls, assisted by customizable preset phrases. The app also provides customizable alerts of short or prolonged sounds around the user.

FRENZ Brainband is a tool to guide users through an optimized sleep cycle while tracking EEG brain signals. It also tracks electrooculogram (EOG) signals, the signals calculated by measuring the corneo-retinal standing potential between the front and the back of the human eye, SpO2, heart rate, and more. Users review their sleep data to gain insights into sleep trends over time and make adjustments, according to the company’s website.

EasyWay 2 Health is a personalized weight management business. It uses AI to learn a person’s natural fluctuation pattern, behavioral predictive analytics, and forecast their weight trend. Its clients include hospitals, corporate wellness programs and weight-loss clinics.

Proxie’s goal is to bridge the gap between families, care providers and the data they need to improve care at home, according to its website. It also offers a supportive community of care providers who can share experiences and learn from one another. Users are matched with a skilled care expert to support their needs, receive a personalized care plan and gain access to a customized dashboard and care plan. They also receive assistance with medical appointment scheduling and medication management for loved ones.

Senbiosys focuses on applications for CMOS Image Sensors for the optical detection of health-related biometrics, including heart rate, blood oxygen level and blood pressure. The company’s first product is a smart ring for people to use to monitor their health.

Splendohealth wants to redefine cardiorespiratory fitness testing through its innovative assessment software platform. It is replacing bulky metabolic carts and specialized labs with wireless and wearable sensors, according to its website. The company takes the view that this approach could be used to assess and monitor the cardiovascular and respiratory health of patients, enabling early detection of potential issues and personalized treatment plans.


MedCity News is looking for applications for our startup pitch contest Pitch Perfect at INVEST 2024. The event will be held at the Ritz Carlton in Chicago, May 21-22. There are four tracks and each track will feature six finalists. 

The categories include:

Biopharma – Startups focused on oncology

Devices & Diagnostics –
Startups focused on cardiology

Healthtech, Consumer/Employer – Startups addressing women’s health

Healthtech, Payer/Provider – Startups addressing burnout and operational efficiency

There is no fee to apply. Startups that have been a finalist and pitched at any INVEST event in the past 12 months are not eligible to apply. Startups should apply to only one track. Startups must be registered for the conference in order to participate in the pitch contest. The startup rate is $695 and a code will be sent to you if you are selected to pitch.

For more information, click here.

Photo: Natalie Mis, Getty Images