Hank Goddard

AI and Med Tech in Focus   Implantable Device Reverses Opioid Overdoses Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed an implantable device that detects and reverses opioid overdoses by autonomously administering a dose of naloxone. Naloxone is a drug that binds to opioid receptors and blocks the effects of heroin, fentanyl and other opioids. Called iSOS, the device has sensors that continuously monitors a user’s respiratory rate, heart rate, body temperature and blood oxygen saturation and uses machine learning algorithms that are trained to recognize the signs of overdose using the cardiorespiratory data collected by the sensors. When the device detects a suspected overdose, the device buzzes and sends an alert to a user’s phone. If the alert is not cancelled, iSOS administers a rapid shot of naloxone.  The device is about the size of a stick of gum and implanted under local anesthesia. It has a wireless rechargeable battery that lasts 14 days and a 10-milligram refillable drug reservoir. ISOS has been shown to be effective in reversing the effects of overdose 96% of the time and could help people who are at the highest risk of re-overdose. Because the naloxone dose is automatically delivered in a “closed loop” survival is not predicated by timely intervention of a first responder or a bystander Further research is being done to miniaturize the size and optimize battery life. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

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AI and Med Tech in Focus   Implantable Device Reverses Opioid Overdoses Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed an implantable device that detects and reverses opioid overdoses by autonomously administering a dose of naloxone. Naloxone is a drug that binds to opioid receptors and blocks the effects of heroin, fentanyl and other opioids. Called iSOS, the device has sensors that continuously monitors a user’s respiratory rate, heart rate, body temperature and blood oxygen saturation and uses machine learning algorithms that are trained to recognize the signs of overdose using the cardiorespiratory data collected by the sensors. When the device detects a suspected overdose, the device buzzes and sends an alert to a user’s phone. If the alert is not cancelled, iSOS administers a rapid shot of naloxone.  The device is about the size of a stick of gum and implanted under local anesthesia. It has a wireless rechargeable battery that lasts 14 days and a 10-milligram refillable drug reservoir. ISOS has been shown to be effective in reversing the effects of overdose 96% of the time and could help people who are at the highest risk of re-overdose. Because the naloxone dose is automatically delivered in a “closed loop” survival is not predicated by timely intervention of a first responder or a bystander Further research is being done to miniaturize the size and optimize battery life. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

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As I said right at the start of this week's The Heart of Healthcare Podcast, Shivdev Rao is one of the most exceptional founders I have ever worked with. He is also a great human being. In this week's episode he shares what is it like leading the 🚀 that is Abridge and some awesome life lessons. IMHO this is a great listen for founders building in both the AI and healthcare fields!

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The role of AI and new technology to aid cardiology “As cardiology starts to face staffing shortages and continued decreases in CMS payments, Biga believes technology advances need to be leveraged in cardiology to help improve outcomes, make workflows more efficient to do more with less, and to help cut costs.” “Many of the solutions that can help were displayed on the expo floor, including telehealth and real-time remote monitoring systems. "I think this area will experience an explosion in use," Biga said. Another major area that will likely see an explosion of use is artificial intelligence (AI). She said AI will begin playing a rapidly growing role in cardiology in the coming years to augment cardiologists and other clinical staff. And not just on the front lines of patient care, but also in the back offices where AI will play a growing role in IT systems, smoothing workflow, analytics, automated quality metrics capture and many other areas. "We must use AI to reduce administrative burdens and improve patient outcomes," Biga explained. “

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Must read if you're building in the defense ecosystem. Vannevar Labs is giving new meaning to understanding customer needs by embedding engineers alongside their users, allowing them to quickly iterate and build product directly with warfighters. Scaling the FDE function has been a key unlock to becoming a multi-product defense company and expanding into new missions and customer groups.

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#hiring If anyone knows an awesome engineer that would be interested in joining an emerging #AI company doing important work in #healthcare, please drop me a line! Andy AI is backed by General Catalyst, YCombinator, Greater Ventures, and others, and they’re looking to hire a full stack engineer (US based) who's excited about using AI to improve healthcare and reduce nurse burnout. Andy is AI software that automates clinical documentation for nurses who do home visits. A nurse makes an audio recording of the visit and Andy automatically generates a form that usually takes nurses 90 minutes to complete. Nurses love the product because it potentially saves them 15 hours of charting a week! The founders previously built healthcare AI at Google Health and Apple, and are now building their vision to transform home health. More about Andy AI: https://with-andy.com/ Nurses love it: https://lnkd.in/g9XqZrUq #GenAI #digitalhealth #hiring #engineers #healthtech

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In January I saw a picture of the Mouthpad in an article from UC Berkeley College of Engineering and included it in the second edition of my then-brand new Substack newsletter NEUROTECH FUTURES. My first impression: This is product is so dang cool. Tomás Vega reached out and we struck up a chat. We interfaced ideas and puns. One chat turned into three or four, and now our ongoing dialogue is one of my favorite channels to broaden my lens in #neurotechnology, #braincomputerinterfaces, design thinking, market access, functional performance, and centering lived experience for people living with disability. My growing conviction: This company is so dang important. So when Augmental closed their seed round, it filled me with optimism that the spirit of "Think Different" is still alive in both industry and private capital. Kudos to Adrien Cohen and SCI Ventures as well as other angel investors in this round for backing real innovation that is already meeting the needs of nearly 50 people living with disability. I wanted to write up their story to share my perspective on the many ways that this powerful, relatively affordable wearable device could bridge the present and future of BCI for people with limited use of their hands. I'd recommend a "follow" to track their progress (impressive in the last 10 months alone!) Check out my article linked below for more detail on the vision and possibilities in what they're building. Congrats to the team 👏

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Med Tech in Focus   Rotator Cuff Surgery Success Improved by Device Inspired by Python Teeth Engineers at Columbia University designed a device that mimics the backward curve of python teeth that nearly doubles repair strength in tendon-to-bone shoulder surgery. The device is made of biocompatible resin teeth set on a curved base. The sharp teeth are half the length of currently used staples, so they won’t break through the tendon and cause suture pull-through. The base can be customized to match a patient’s curvature of the tendon attachment site. Currently, successful reattachment is fraught with high failure rates estimated at 20% for younger patients with minor tears to 94% in elderly patients with massive tears. Most of the failures are the result of suture pull-through. It is estimated that about 600,000 rotator cuff surgeries are performed in the US annually at a cost of $3 billion. The engineers are now researching a bioabsorbable version that would dissolve when the tendon heals and reattaches back to the bone. VC Investors are always adjusting their "Play Book" with a variety of options for investing. Mikal Ventures is one of those alternatives, offering curated solutions to real world problems. Reach out if you have questions on how we can be of assistance and bookmark https://mikalventures.com/ for additional insights and information.

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San Diego investor event: Aquillius Medical Devices & Diagnostics Symposium, taking place on Wednesday, May 15th, from 12:30 PM to 7:00 PM. This exclusive event brings together leading industry experts, groundbreaking startups, and prominent investors like yourself. Here's what you can expect: Expert Insights: Gain valuable knowledge from renowned speakers on topics critical to medtech success, including design for manufacturing, intellectual property protection, regulatory navigation, and fostering successful startups. Early Access to Innovation: Witness the future of healthcare firsthand as promising Aquillius incubees showcase their innovative medical device and diagnostic solutions during a dedicated startup showcase. Networking Opportunities: Connect and build relationships with other investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders shaping the medical technology landscape. This is a unique opportunity to: Identify promising investment opportunities in the medtech sector. Gain valuable insights from leading experts. Network with a community of like-minded investors and industry professionals. Space is limited, so RSVP today! Medical Devices Symposium (Investor Registration) Tickets, Wed, May 15, 2024 at 12:30 PM | https://lnkd.in/gjWDU9pz

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Some great advice in this interview — featuring Jeffry Weinhuff of Visionary Ventures — relevant to all sub-sectors of #medtech. My favorite line is “investment capital is not tuition.” 😂 But the best advice stems from the insight that good exits via IPO or M&A processes with multiple buyers competing for your company require that most medtech companies must prove their value via strong commercial metrics. And doing that takes a lot of time, expertise and money. Plan, hire and raise capital accordingly. At Vensana Capital, our investment process centers on a deep analysis of every aspect of getting a breakthrough medtech innovation to market, no matter what stage of development a company is at today. We like entrepreneurs who believe their innovation can be highly impactful to patients. We love the ones who want to leave no doubt. https://lnkd.in/eDsUqgn6

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Who doesn't love chatting about the frontier of Space?! Loved getting this insiders look from Epsilon3 CEO Laura Crabtree (ex-SpaceX, Northrop Grumman) as the industry reshapes into a lightening fast startup ecosystem for us to marvel. Small teams are lowering the cost to access space. Homegrown automation software is dramatically reducing team size -- as Laura puts it: "You won’t see 50 people in a control room for launch…you’ll see 5 controlling 50 different assets and a couple of 100 assets that are mostly operating on their own." Personally i'm keeping a close eye on the new interconnectedness between space and the broader economy will spark a flywheel of innovation. 🎙️ Listen in to our discussion (link in comments) as we release today -- 5YF#16: Space command reimagined, automating mission control, new deep tech hubs, interstellar missions, and the future of space operations w/ Epsilon3 CEO Laura Crabtree To infinity!

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This edition of Orrick’s life sciences series reviews key venture investment trends in Q2 2024 and features a roundtable on ARPA-H, which funds high-impact biomedical research. https://lnkd.in/gEEXNwpf

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On the latest Vital Signs, Nikhil Krishnan and I sat down with Parth Mehrotra, CEO of Privia Health. Privia is a physician enablement platform and >$2B public company partnering with 4500+ providers on practice improvement and value-based care. We talk about the most important ways to manage risk, building effective physician enablement solutions, the future of value-based care programs & contracts, and more. Some highlights: 🏥 Capabilities practices need to participate in risk-based contracts Parth highlights 3 sets of capabilities:  1. Diversification of risk. This can range from pooling the risk with other providers to hedging risk across multiple programs.  2. Audit, compliance, controls and documentation 3. A tech stack and data that allows the provider to understand their patient population and care for them throughout the entire care workflow (e.g., identifying the patient’s relevant conditions, closing care gaps, caring for the patient after the visit). 🏥 The types of providers partnering with Privia Parth explains that physicians have 4 general settings in which to practice medicine: 1. Being employed by a hospital or a clinic. 2. Starting their own practice or joining another independent practice. 3. An independent practice that partners with another entity to help with business operations. 4. Selling the practice and having the new owner transform it. He notes that practices that join Privia are self-selecting: these physicians want to stay independent but need another player to help throughout the entirety of the practice. 🏥 How physician enablement companies influence practices Parth is a strong believer that physician enablement companies don’t need to buy practices in order to influence outcomes. Rather, companies can achieve better outcomes by giving physicians more autonomy. Improved performance is driven by the combination of 1) giving physicians the tools to manage everything outside of direct patient care and 2) maintaining incentives for physicians to want the practice to succeed. A must-listen for anyone looking to understand the physician enablement landscape and how providers can take on risk. Check out the full episode below: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Ulb7FL Apple: https://apple.co/4dQwS7i

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Join me on September 5th for a LinkedIn Live event organized by InnoLead, where we’ll dive into debates with Alex Slawsby (CGO at Innolead), Scott Kirsner (CEO at Innolead), Jon Corshen (Co-Founder at Pilot 44) and Elliott Parker (CEO at High Alpha Innovation) around corporate venture building. We’ll tackle questions like: • Should companies stop building new ventures internally? • Do ventures need more than just corporate funding to succeed? • Are there opportunities corporate ventures see that startups miss? • Will AI dominate corporate venture building by next year? • Why do so many corporate ventures fail to scale? • Why do ventures need more startup talent than corporate “lifers”? 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://lnkd.in/gZPw82x4

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The healthcare industry's impact on the environment is a hidden cost we can no longer ignore. The sector is responsible for nearly 5% of global emissions, and a significant portion comes from operating rooms (ORs). These critical spaces are energy guzzlers, generate massive amounts of waste, and contribute heavily to greenhouse gas emissions. Just think, a single surgery in the US produces as much waste as a family of four throws away in a week, and ORs alone are responsible for a whopping 50-70% of a hospital's clinical waste! At Caresyntax, we're committed to making surgery more sustainable. Our data-driven solutions tackle these challenges head-on by supercharging OR efficiency. Our platform optimizes energy use, minimizes waste generation, and streamlines resource management. This not only benefits the environment, but also improves patient outcomes. Caresyntax empowers hospitals to operate more efficiently, leading to a healthier planet and a healthier bottom line. By leveraging data analytics, we've helped partners achieve remarkable results. We're talking about a 60% drop in energy consumption, a 33% increase in surgeries performed per OR annually, and a positive net margin of $2,500 per patient due to fewer readmissions. Let's make surgery more sustainable together. Read the Caresyntax paper for a deeper dive into this critical issue and see how we can help your hospital reduce its environmental footprint. https://lnkd.in/ggM-P6ij #DigitalSurgery #DataDrivenSurgery #FutureofSurgery

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We've been talking quite a bit about how investors view founders/teams versus markets when making investment decisions. Here's a company that seems to have strength on both sides. In our latest edition of The Memo we sat down with CEO John Slump of Atraverse Medical, Inc. to hear their plans to revolutionize left-heart access and streamline procedures. How big is the market? The cardiac ablation market is forecast to grow at a 9.7% CAGR over the next 5 years from $6 billion in 2023 to $10 billion in 2028. (Source: LSI Market Intelligence Platform) The Memo and full story is here: https://lnkd.in/eTyabVyk Looking forward to a real-time update at LSI Europe where Atraverse and John will be in the spotlight.

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"Acarix, a leader in rapid AI and acoustics-based cardiac diagnostics, announced today that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has decided that the CPT code 0716T - the CADScor® System - shall be assigned to APC 5733 including status indicator assignment to "S" (separately payable) for calendar year 2025. The CMS ruling means standalone fixed reimbursement is now possible for the CADScor System in outpatient settings." "The Acarix CADScor is a non-invasive, radiation free diagnostic aid powered by AI to rule out Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) with 97% accuracy in less than 10 minutes. The CADScor System is CE- and FDA-cleared, covered by more than 40 patents and used on over 40,000 patients with symptomatic chest pain." https://lnkd.in/gy9dHSte American Heart Association Heart Rhythm Society #epeeps American College of Cardiology European Society of Cardiology American College of Emergency Physicians

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We're absolutely thrilled to announce a monumental milestone for Flo Health Inc.! After years of dedication to women's health, Flo, a long-standing member of the Target Global family, has secured over $200 million in Series C funding led by General Atlantic.This incredible investment propels Flo's valuation beyond $1 billion, officially making it a unicorn – a rare and remarkable feat in the femtech space. This accomplishment isn't just about numbers. It's a testament to the power of prioritizing women's health. Flo has seen phenomenal growth over eight years, becoming the #1 downloaded app in the Health & Fitness category. Today, Flo empowers nearly 70 million monthly active users (MAUs) and boasts close to 5 million paid subscribers. Notably, 1 in 4 US women trust Flo, solidifying its position as a leader in the global movement for women's health. But this is just the beginning! This investment fuels Flo's mission to revolutionize female healthcare experiences worldwide. By directing resources towards areas of critical yet unmet needs (which, let's be honest, encompasses a vast majority of women's health!), Flo will continue to be a driving force for positive change. Congratulations Dmitry Gurski,Yuri Gurski, and the entire Flo Health Inc. team! More in the Financial Times here ---->https://lnkd.in/dJZdajM4

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Some VC investors believe that brick and mortar - referring to a physical presence of some kind - should be avoided at all costs. Yet, the track record of clinic and hybrid care businesses in health care indicates otherwise. ==> One Medical (sold for $3.9 billion to Amazon), Oak Street (bought by CVS for $10.6 billion), Lifestance (IPO at $7.5 billion market cap), and PE-backed Premise Health (acquired by OMERS Private Equity for $1.1 billion) If a clinic is indicated as the optimal way to deliver care for that patient population, there are creative ways to build and operate them. Full article below with advice and strategies on how to build and operate hybrid clinics from my teammate Anarghya Vardhana from Maveron, Amir Dan Rubin from OneMedical Group, Steven Eidelman from Modern Animal and more!

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