From at-home dialysis machines to edible barcodes on drugs to deter fraud, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated innovation in health IT. Of the hundreds of new companies and technologies that developed during the pandemic, Fast Company selected 10 healthcare companies that created innovations related to medical challenges, according to a Nov. 18 report.
For its Next Big Things in Tech awards, Fast Company honored 65 companies from an array of industries. Awardees were selected by a team of 14 Fast Company editors and reporters.
Here are the top 10 innovative companies in healthcare and the achievements that landed them on Fast Company's list:
- Biospectal: Measures blood pressure using the camera of a smartphone.
- Brightseed: Maps plants' chemical diversity to identify potential medical applications.
- Caption Health: Uses artificial intelligence-powered ultrasounds to guide clinicians through the imaging process.
- ClosedLoop AI: Its technology predicts health outcomes for patients to prevent readmission.
- Microsoft and Adaptive Biotech: Created ImmuneCODE, an open-source database of COVID-19 immune responses.
- Outset Medical: Its dialysis machine combines water purification and dialysate production to enable at-home dialysis treatments.
- Sherlock Biosciences: Its CRISPR-powered COVID-19 tests use gene editing technology and can deliver results in about one hour.
- Synchron: The company created an interface that uses the brain's electrical pulses to allows people with paralysis to send data to a computer.
- Tivic Health: Its ClearUp handheld device is designed to reduce sinus pain, pressure and congestion by simulating a nerve.
- TruTag: Prevents counterfeit drugs with edible micro barcodes that can be printed on drugs. Pills can be scanned by a smartphone app to verify authenticity.