Tech Breakthroughs, Funding Surges, and Transformative Therapies

👋🏼 Healthcare Innovators ❤️

👉🏼 Here in case you missed last week edition: Stomach Signaling, AI Learning, Hospital Economics

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🌐 Healthcare x News

Experimental Ultrasound Treatment Targets Alzheimer's, Addiction by Opening Blood-Brain Barrier

MIT neurosurgeon Dr. Ali Rezai is pioneering the use of focused ultrasound to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier, allowing drugs to better reach brain targets.

For Alzheimer's, this enhanced delivery of amyloid-clearing drugs reduced plaque in trials. But cognitive impacts are still unclear. "This technique has potential if proven safe, but long term benefits remain unknown," commented neurologist Dr. Anne Matthews.

For addiction, ultrasound targets the nucleus accumbens reward center. Early trial patients showed reduced or eliminated drug use. But experts caution larger controlled studies are needed. "While promising, we have to be careful about hype with experimental brain procedures," said psychiatrist Dr. William Brown.

Rezai aims to expand ultrasound for PTSD, obesity and more. His work highlights both the promise and risks of pushing neuromodulation frontiers. Careful testing will be key to validate these innovative approaches.

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Harbor Health Raises $95.5M to Expand Primary and Specialty Care in Texas

Austin-based primary and specialty care startup Harbor Health raised $95.5 million in new funding led by General Catalyst. This brings their total raised to over $128 million.

Harbor Health was founded by Dr. Clay Johnston, Eric Scott, and Tony Miller to create a new consumer-focused care model. The funding will expand their integrated, team-based care offerings in Central Texas.

The company currently operates 8 clinics with 43 clinicians. In 2023 they served 25,000+ patients through in-person, virtual, and mobile care.

Investors are attracted to Harbor Health's fresh approach optimizing outcomes and engagement through their payor-provider model. The new capital will support growth as they aim to transform value-based care.

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Amazon's Health Condition Programs: Simplifying Digital Health for Chronic Conditions

Amazon unveils its latest initiative, Health Condition Programs, aiming to streamline access to digital health benefits for managing chronic conditions like prediabetes, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Partnering with digital health company Omada Health for the launch, Amazon provides users with a seamless experience to discover, apply for, and manage programs related to their chronic conditions.

This service offers users covered under specific Health Condition Programs access to a range of benefits, including connected devices, a personal care team, health coaching, and nutrition planning. Amazon emphasizes that some programs may be covered by insurance plans or employers, ensuring affordability for users. The strategic partnership with Omada Health, which boasts over 20 million eligible members, opens up avenues for individuals to enroll in diabetes prevention, diabetes, and hypertension programs through Amazon.

The new enrollment pathway addresses the challenge of awareness, particularly for the one in ten commercially insured individuals in the U.S. who can enroll in Omada but may not be aware of the opportunity. By integrating health-related benefits into the Amazon shopping experience, the tech giant aims to raise awareness and facilitate enrollment in Omada's cardiometabolic programs. Aaron Martin, Vice President of Healthcare at Amazon, emphasizes the goal of making health-related benefits more accessible, supporting customers in their journey to better health at little to no additional cost.

Amazon's commitment to expanding partnerships with digital health companies signals its dedication to enhancing customer awareness of available health benefits and contributing to a healthier future.

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💰  Healthcare x Startups

Health in Her HUE Raises $3M in Seed Funding to Tackle Women's Health Disparities

Digital health app, Health in Her HUE, secures $3 million in seed funding led by Seae Ventures. Founded in 2018 by Ashlee Wisdom, the app addresses health disparities for women of color, offering a platform connecting them with culturally sensitive healthcare providers and educational content. In an era where women of color face medical discrimination, the app aims to bridge gaps by fostering trust and understanding. With 13,000 members and 1,300 providers across 60 specialties, Health in Her HUE plans to expand its Care Squad program, introduce new health topics, and launch a video-based Q&A product with clinical experts.

Ashlee Wisdom, CEO of Health in Her HUE, emphasizes the company's unique position in addressing racial health disparities. The seed funding, though challenging to secure, marks a crucial step in expanding the app's reach and impact. With support from investors like Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures and HBCU Founders Fund, Health in Her HUE aims to enhance its membership experience, ensuring that more women of color can access and benefit from its valuable offerings. The funding reflects a growing recognition of the pressing need for inclusive digital healthcare solutions, especially in the context of women's health becoming increasingly politicized.

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Diem: Revolutionizing Search for Women and Nonbinary Individuals

The platform incorporates an AI component, leveraging ChatGPT and user-contributed content to provide answers through "a feminine lens." This approach, combined with partnerships with trusted content providers, ensures a holistic and trustworthy information repository. The recent addition of features like "Nominate Your Friends," "Spaces," and "Daily Briefing" enhances user engagement and community building.

Diem's partnerships with reproductive health experts, including Aavia, Hey Jane, Evvy, and Stix, reflect a commitment to reliable information. The forthcoming features, such as "Recommended Reading" and an event platform, indicate a continuous evolution toward a comprehensive community resource. With a current user base of over 40,000 and plans for monetization to reward content contributions, Diem is not just reshaping search; it's fostering a supportive digital ecosystem for women and nonbinary individuals.

Diem, a groundbreaking startup, is challenging the gender bias in search engines with its social search platform. Founder Emma Bates, inspired by a frustrating online search experience, aims to create a space where women and nonbinary individuals can share personal stories, seek advice on taboo topics, and ask questions anonymously. Diem is not just a search engine; it's designed as a global group chat, fostering conversations akin to those among close friends.

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Forta: Revolutionizing Autism Therapy with AI-Powered Parent-Led Approach

Forta, a pioneering autism therapy startup, has secured $55 million in a series A funding round led by Insight Partners, with participation from Exor Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and notable founders from prominent companies like 23&Me, Warby Parker, and Allbirds. This substantial investment will propel Forta's mission to expand its applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy practice and further develop its suite of clinical algorithms.

In response to the surging demand for autism and intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) services, Forta employs a unique approach by empowering parents through its algorithm-driven ABA therapy. Parents undergo a comprehensive training program, including a 50-hour course and competency assessment, potentially earning certification as behavior technicians. Subsequently, parents actively participate in creating and implementing a personalized therapy plan for their child, receiving compensation for structured learning time. The flexible model addresses the shortage of clinicians and enhances accessibility to therapy.

Forta's emphasis on an empowered home caregiver model has garnered attention, leading to its exploration of expansion into memory care and other chronic conditions beyond autism therapy. The platform's efficacy is supported by a peer-reviewed study, where three-quarters of 25 pediatric patients demonstrated improvement in therapy goal achievement.

Currently available to parents in 45 states, Forta's program aims to reduce tantrums, enhance communication, and support children in achieving developmental goals. With partnerships established with seven major payers and over two dozen state government programs, Forta is making strides in making proven therapy accessible without being contingent on geographical location or income.

Ritankar Das, Forta's Co-founder and CEO, highlights the company's commitment to addressing the inadequacies of the current healthcare system, emphasizing the need for dependable and quality care when families require it. The recent funding injection positions Forta as a significant player in leveraging technology to bridge gaps in autism therapy and extends its reach to benefit families nationwide.

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🕰️ Blasts from the Past: This Week in Medical History

January 11, 1922: Insulin is first used to treat diabetes in a 14-year-old patient at the Toronto General Hospital, a breakthrough in diabetes management.

January 13, 1952: The first successful open-heart surgery is performed by Dr. F. John Lewis at the University of Minnesota, paving the way for cardiac surgery advancements.

January 14, 1973: The Endangered Species Act is signed into law in the United States, highlighting the connection between environmental health and human well-being.

January 15, 2001: Wikipedia is launched, becoming a valuable online resource for health information and shaping how individuals access medical knowledge.

January 16, 2003: The Human Genome Project is officially completed, providing a comprehensive map of the human genome and accelerating advancements in genetics.

January 17, 1980: The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the eradication of smallpox, marking the first successful elimination of a human infectious disease.

January 18, 2013: President Barack Obama signs an executive order to launch the Precision Medicine Initiative, focusing on personalized healthcare and individualized treatment approaches.

🧠 Healthcare x AI

AI and Automation Platform Predicts Chemical Reactions for Faster Drug Design

Researchers at the University of Cambridge developed a platform combining automated chemistry experiments and AI to predict how molecules will react.

By uncovering hidden relationships in a dataset of 39,000 pharmaceutical reactions, their "reactome" approach aims to bring chemical discovery from trial-and-error to the big data age. This could accelerate designing new drugs and useful products.

In another paper, the team used ML to enable precise tweaks to complex drug molecules, avoiding rebuilding them from scratch. Their model predicts reaction sites to guide late-stage functionalization.

"This resolves the low-data challenge in chemistry and could drive advances beyond drug design," said lead researcher Dr. Alpha Lee.

The reactome and selective reaction innovations aim to make the discovery process more efficient. Machine learning is unlocking chemistry's vast possibilities.

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AI Laser: Revolutionizing Healthcare with Distant Heartbeat Monitoring

Glasgow University scientists unveil a groundbreaking laser camera leveraging AI and quantum tech to remotely detect heartbeats, potentially replacing traditional stethoscopes. Professor Daniele Faccio envisions transformative applications, from quick readings in shopping malls to home installations for continuous health monitoring. The technology's accuracy, filtering out background noises through AI, offers a proactive approach to cardiovascular health, eliminating the need for extensive training with stethoscopes.

"This technology could be set up in booths in shopping malls where people could get a quick heartbeat reading that could then be added to their online medical records," highlights Professor Daniele Faccio. He emphasizes the system's potential to pinpoint individuals accurately, even in shared living spaces, showcasing its application beyond healthcare in biometric identification. The team's startup, LightHearted AI, seeks venture capital to propel the development of these innovative healthcare devices, promising considerable benefits in decentralized health monitoring.

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That’s all for this week.
The Pulse Disruption Team