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Smart Vision Labs and the SUNY College of Optometry, GeriJoy and Pace University, and Urgent Software and Mount Sinai Health System were among the winning partnerships in the second annual Pilot Health Tech NYC.
The program, sponsored by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and Health 2.0, is designed to increase innovation and collaboration within New York City’s health technology sector.
In March, more than 300 face-to-face lightning meetings took place between startups and health care institutions at matchmaking days curated by NYCEDC and Health 2.0.
From this, the pairs applied for funding and, ultimately, a panel of expert judges selected 11 winners of the Pilot Health Tech NYC competition.
Pilot Health Tech NYC helps pilot and advance new health technologies by partnering early-stage companies with key New York City health care service organizations and stakeholders, including hospitals, physician clinics, pharmaceutical companies, nursing associations, large employers, and retailers.
The other winners of this year’s program include QoL Devices and Montefiore Medical Center, Nonnatech and ElderServe, Fit4D and HealthFirst, AllazoHealth and the Accountable Care Coalition of Greater New York, and Canopy Apps in partnership with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
Rounding out the winner’s circle were Healthify and VillageCare, Tactonic Technologies in partnership with NYU Langone and Rusk Rehab Center, and Hindsait working with the NY Blood Center.
In the case of QoL Devices and the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, the two organizations plan to pilot Alv.io, a mobile-connected respiratory training and monitoring device that uses interactive, animated games to incentivize engagement, personalize training, conduct performance analysis and monitor testing in children to improve asthma management.
In addition to individual grants, the program’s winners will receive exclusive pilot planning and implementation support services, informational workshops and promotion at major health events and conferences.
Each winner received up to $100,000 and was featured recently as part of Pilot Day, a gathering of approximately 200 leaders of the health care community.
Of the 11 winners, nine are located within New York City, and the remaining two will relocate to one of the five boroughs.
The health care sector is one of the leading employers in New York City, providing approximately 634,000 jobs, and has experienced the largest growth of any sector, having created 20,000 new jobs over the last year, according to NYCEDC.
“The health care sector creates more jobs in New York City than any other–and is poised to gain further economic momentum–so it is critical that we continue to support the growth of this tremendously strong field,” NYCEDC president Kyle Kimball said in a statement. “In partnership with some of the city’s world-renowned health care institutions, this year’s Pilot winners will implement technologies that could benefit thousands of New Yorkers and solve real medical challenges, while helping to drive job growth and diversify the city economy.”