HLTH 2024 at the Venetian Expo Center in Las Vegas on October 20 to 23 will spotlight a variety of startups that want to improve care coordination for providers, detect diseases earlier, improve the way we age and more. Additionally, specialized programming will spotlight critical topics in the health insurance and pharma industries. There will also be opportunities to gain health tech insights from a group of physicians as part of the new Physician Roundtable program.
We’ve highlighted the startups taking part in the four startup pitch competitions. Register for HLTH to get a first-person perspective of the healthcare startup landscape.
The HLTH Startup Pitch Contest, sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, is geared to startups less than 5 years old that have raised less than $5 million in capital. The winner receives $15,000 in HLTH 2025 sponsorship credit and a $15,000 check from HLTH. The contest will take place on the Startup Stage on Monday, October 21, from 11:00 am to 12:20 pm.
- BioTrillion developed what it refers to as a digital biomarker platform called BioEngine4D, according to its website. It’s designed to transform health monitoring by converting smartphones into medical devices. It also developed an app, HealthySelfie™, to quantify vital health information using a 10-second face scan.
- HerHealthAI focuses on endometriosis, which affects 10% of girls and women globally — 190 million according to data from the World Health Organization. The startup is developing AI-driven solutions to enable early detection of endometriosis, reduce the need for invasive surgeries, and improve patient outcomes, according to its website.
- CerebraAI seeks to harness generative AI to analyze non-contrast CT scans in the emergency department. Its technology is designed to identify potential abnormalities within brain tissues to diagnose strokes, according to the company’s website.
- BlueSpine wants to streamline medical claims cost containment. Using AI, the company seeks to help self-insured employers to discover, recover, and prevent medical overbilling.
- NeuroGeneces is developing a neurological assessment, NeuroInsight™, with the goal of detecting atypical brain decline up to two decades before symptoms of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease emerge, according to its website.
- WearableDose seeks to revolutionize cancer treatment. Its precision dosimeter helps doctors provide accurate administration of radiation therapy to tumors — lowering costs, and improving patient outcomes. The WearableDose Patch is a disposable adhesive based on an electronic polymer particle detector applied to the patient’s skin to measure radiation intensity and spatial distribution, according to the startup’s website.
- Preview Health has developed a blood test to detect Parkinson’s disease. The goal is to provide early detection so intervention efforts can begin earlier, increasing the time to monitor disease progression, boost drug efficacy, and develop a customized care plan.
The Healthy Living Pitch Competition, in collaboration with the AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP, spotlights startups focused on healthy aging solutions. Finalists for the contest offer tech solutions that contribute to maintaining and enhancing well-being as we age. The winner receives a $10,000 check from AARP. Startups pitching at this event may be invited to join the AgeTech Collaborative accelerator program. The contest is scheduled to take place on the Startup Stage from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm on Monday, Oct. 21.
- EverEx is a digital therapeutics company that developed an AI-powered remote patient monitoring tool to support physical therapy. It can be used to prevent, manage, and treat musculoskeletal disorders. By analyzing user data for prescribed exercises and assessments, the company can customize treatment plans for each patient’s needs, according to the startup’s website.
- HEMOTAG LLC uses AI and cloud computing to discover biomarkers to identify and monitor structural heart health.
- Jana Care Inc is developing biomarker assays for its proprietary digital health platform with the goal of improving health outcomes for people living with chronic diseases. Its approach seeks to lower the cost of diagnostic testing.
- Pharus Diagnostics combines machine learning technology with novel biomarker combinations, with the goal of making early cancer detection possible and thereby potentially improving patient outcomes, according to its website.
- Pontosense has developed a coin-sized contactless radio frequency sensor that monitors biometrics such as breathing rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability to unlock new human applications in everyday technology.
- Pills2Me Inc. is a pharmacist-founded prescription drug delivery business. The service picks up prescriptions from the customer’s chosen pharmacy and delivers them at a time that fits the customer’s schedule. It also offers customers the ability to consult with a pharmacist for over-the-counter medication, according to the startup’s website.
The Provider Care Coordination Pitch Competition, sponsored by TGH Ventures, the investment arm of Tampa General Hospital, is themed Transforming care coordination: Smarter, simpler, more impactful. TGH Ventures looks for solutions that enhance communication, streamline processes, and improve patient outcomes by integrating seamlessly with existing healthcare systems. The winner will receive a $10,000 check from TGH Ventures. They will also be invited to meet with senior leadership for a chance to partner with TGH. The contest is scheduled for the Startup Stage from 2:30 pm to 3:50 pm, on Tuesday, October 22.
- Blue Agilis provides insight into practices’ value-based care maturity levels, surfacing high-value opportunities, and leveraging practice pattern data to create practice-specific interventions and a blueprint to accelerate improvements in quality, cost, health equity, and patient experience, according to the company’s website.
- SkinCheck has developed an early skin cancer detection technology. Through their smartphone, users can check their moles for skin cancer, track their moles over time, and compare them to an index of different cancerous and non-cancerous mole types, according to the company’s website.
- Rheumission is a virtual-first integrative rheumatology and lifestyle medicine practice that seeks to provide people with rheumatology conditions fast access to personalized care. Autoimmune patients and physicians specializing in this area developed the program. It offers a multidisciplinary care team and an app to keep users’ healthcare records and tracking in one place.
- Lilypad Health has developed a non-invasive way to monitor women’s health through menstrual blood. Its mission is to fight healthcare disparity and improve care. By collecting and filtering menstrual blood, the startup hopes to improve detection of HR-HPV, fertility hormones, thyroid levels, and more, according to its website.
- Troupe Health offers a care delivery solution designed for senior living communities to extend the reach and impact of primary care providers and caregivers. It provides clinical services with a fully integrated care coordination and communication platform.
- Asepha wants to help pharmacists automate manual tasks so they can focus on clinical work. Its proprietary large language models (LLMs) are trained on thousands of real-life pharmacy encounters, pharmacists’ clicks, actions, and repetitive tasks that perform better than the state-of-the-art LLMs for clinical use cases, according to the startup’s website.
- AI-Stroke has created a dataset of 23,000+ stroke patient videos and millions of images to train its AI. Embedded in a tablet or smartphone, it is designed for EMS first responders to identify strokes and large vessel occlusions in seconds. Patients perform exercises while being filmed, and the AI gives stroke diagnostics, specifies its kind, and selects the best hospital for treatment, according to the company’s website.
Well by HLTH Pitch Competition is sponsored by Haleon. Startups participating in the contest are under 5 years old and have raised less than $5 million. The winner receives $15,000 in HLTH 2024 sponsorship credit and a $15,000 check from HLTH. The competition will kick off on the Startup Stage from 11:00 am to 12:20 pm, on Tuesday, October 22.
- Cadence OTC sits at the intersection of women’s health and retail health. It wants to make birth control pills more accessible so everyone can buy them, regardless of a prescription or insurance. Its goal is to bring over-the-counter emergency contraceptives to convenience stores nationwide, especially in areas lacking healthcare services.
- Healthful developed an AI platform to translate an individual’s biomarkers into actionable, science-backed natural health solutions, according to its website.
- Thimble has produced two kinds of adhesive patches to relieve needle pain. One is designed to be used ahead of an injection, such as a blood test or vaccine to reduce pain. Another is used after the injection to reduce pain and soreness, according to its website.
- Alba Health targets gut health through a microbiome test developed specifically for newborns to 3-year olds. The test is designed to generate data that can be used to provide more customized support for our future health.
- Morari, Inc’s objective is to restore confidence in male sexual health by eliminating the embarrassment and frustration of premature ejaculation through the use of a wearable patch activated by a smartphone app, according to its website.
- Firstgrin focuses on pediatric oral health. By fostering healthy oral habits from childhood, the startup seeks to safeguard oral health into adulthood.
- Soteri Skin Inc. developed a skincare treatment for eczema with the goal of long-term relief for people with the skin condition.
- Brinter is creating 3D bioprinted, biocomposite implants for the soft tissue repair market. It seeks to restore damaged tissue and replace conventional implants.
The Insights series at HLTH on Sunday, October 20 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, will cover topics of importance to payers and the pharma industry.
- The Pharma Insights program brings together industry leaders, researchers, and experts who are leveraging innovation to accelerate drug discovery and enhance patient outcomes. It includes three panel discussions focused on therapeutic advancements for age-related diseases, equitable access to medicine, and the role of generative AI to accelerate drug development. Sponsors include Takeda, StriveRx, Empower Pharmacy, and Amgen.
- The Payer Insights program, sponsored by PurpleLab, Ceris, and Evernorth Health Services, will focus on the ongoing shift occurring within the healthcare payments landscape with a push to value-based models. It will also draw attention to the heightened focus on consumer-centric engagement strategies and an increased pressure to clean up convoluted processes and address the high costs of care.
The Impact programs will explore learning, sharing and collaboration among healthcare’s advocates and changemakers. Sessions will be held on the Impact Stage on Monday, October 21 and Tuesday, October 22.
- The Health Equity Impact program will offer a thoughtful, hard-hitting platform to discuss this social issue. Accelerating vaccine development, health equity innovation, maternal mental health care, and access to rural healthcare are among the topics of discussion.
- The Patients at HLTH Impact program will spotlight the patient experience in healthcare, such as the impact of weight bias on access to care and a dietician’s role in the healthcare ecosystem.
The Physician Roundtables, a new feature at HLTH, will provide a way for organizations to elevate their engagement and connect with eight hand-selected, active physicians in a semi-private setting. These 45-minute sessions provide invaluable feedback tailored to your specific challenges and questions. Participants can gain real time feedback on the commercial viability of new health tech in clinical settings from the very people who would be using this technology, which will provide investors and entrepreneurs with valuable insights. Physician Roundtables is offered in partnership with Physician Side Gigs, an online community of over 200,000 verified physicians.
Networking opportunities abound at HLTH. Among some of the networking events are the opening night reception, the 6th annual Digital Health Hub Awards Reception, and affinity networking events.
To take full advantage of the exciting catalog of startups and healthcare innovation conversations, register today!
