WOMEN-LED STARTUPS
10 women-led medtech startups The Medical Design & Outsourcing editorial team drew on its resources to produce this list of women-led medtech startups. These are companies that are less than 10 years old and were founded by women and/or are led by women.
Alva Health wins MedTech Innovator startup prize Led by CEO SANDRA SALDANA, this startup developed a wearable stroke monitor. B Y JIM H A MM ER A N D M A NA G ING ED ITO R
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edTech Innovator awarded its $350,000 global startup competition grand prize to Alva Health, a wearable, real-time stroke monitor developer. The New Haven, Connecticut– based startup won the medical device accelerator competition after a Sept. 29 vote by attendees of The MedTech Conference, organized by AdvaMed. “Alva Health’s mission is to develop, commercialize and make accessible a first-in-class medical device that accurately detects strokes using patient-worn wearables,” Alva Health co-founder and CEO Sandra Saldana said in a news release. “This award represents a recognition of the tremendous clinical unmet need for patients and an important milestone in Alva Health’s journey. We are grateful to the MedTech Innovator community for their support and for the opportunity to receive mentorship from top leaders in the medical device industry as we work toward fulfilling our mission to deliver this much-needed technology to the millions of people who are at high risk for stroke.”
Alva Health’s stroke monitor
MedTech Innovator received more than 1,100 applications. Four other finalists — BioDevek, Caretaker Medical, Cooler Heads Care and Nutromics — each received a $25,000 prize. The MedTech Innovator accelerator program provides early-stage companies with industry mentorship, virtual networking and workshops, and pitch sessions with investors, manufacturers, providers and customers. “Each year, we are on a mission to find the most promising startups from around the globe and connect them with the right stakeholders with the goal of reaching patients and improving lives,” MedTech Innovator Founding CEO Paul Grand said in the news release. “I can say with full confidence that not only Alva Health, but all of this year’s finalist companies are on track to bring life-changing health solutions into the hands of clinicians and their patients.”
Alva Health cofounder and CEO Sandra Saldana
Photo courtesy of Alva Health
Photo courtesy of Alva Health
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Medical Design & Outsourcing
10 • 2021
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