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Crises affect healthcare like no other industry. Amid such turbulence, healthcare vendors seek for ways to sustainably deliver high-quality care, retain patients and staff as well as be profitable. Given this, medical service providers went for digitalization and technology adoption. In our today’s article, we will mention 5 most vibrant healthcare startups promising us innovative patterns of care and business in 2024.
AI-run games for neurology
Switzerland-based MindMaze attracted attention by announcing the receipt of $105 of new funds earlier this year. The healthcare startup develops cutting edge digital solutions for people with brain injuries. Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality-based video games by MindMaze targets recovery for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, etc. in an immersive environment. The technology was also cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is subject to costs reimbursement by insurance service providers in U.S. and Canada.
For example, in one of the games patients suffering from a stroke are supposed to engage their upper body movements to control an animated dolphin on a screen, directing it to explore the ocean and catch fish by means of a movement tracking technology. “The game allows us to take full advantage of a unique but short window of opportunity to repair the nervous system after a stroke”, says John Krakauer, Professor at John Hopkins University.
Web-based pneumonia diagnosis tool for everyone
Recent pandemic facilitated the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by medical professionals for accurate diagnosis without a need to physically visit a doctor. A U.S.-based startup provides a web-based platform for a wide range of users. Inter alia, the platform offers an AI-assisted pneumonia diagnosis tool. Users can upload their lungs X-ray image to the service and receive feedback. The binary identification algorithm supposes that if less than 80% of lungs identified as unaffected, he/she should have a medical appointment.
What is so promising about this healthcare startup is that amid the pandemic, it significantly reduces doctors’ workload. Besides, the tool can be scaled up as relevant to reveal other diseases.
Mobile app for flexible shifts
Staff shortages in healthcare have always been a hot topic. Some medical facilities report a 25 % deficit at a time when “they are busier than ever”. The CareRev mobile app connects registered nurses, medical assistants and other medical staff with local healthcare service providers to arrange flexible shifts. The app includes 500+ hospitals across the United States and medical professionals are screened and referred to the most relevant job opportunities nearby.
Data analytics to treat cancer
“Healthcare requires simplicity when it comes to data analytics”, says Alexey Shliakhouski, CTO of Elinext, a software development company with strong expertise in the healthcare sector. Many hospitals implement custom healthcare analytics solutions, while some are looking for ready-made ones. Flatiron Health provides an electronic health record platform to consolidate real-world cancer data for clinicians and researchers while offering some other services, including bills and claims management. The company builds a bridge between clinical care and clinical research by alleviating the burden of clinical trials while improving their efficiency.
When it comes to the value this healthcare startup brings, this is all about collecting oncology data from various sources like laboratories, research repositories, etc. Insights extracted from such data when added with electronic medical records information ensure a unique de-facto database for cancer treatment. Thus, 14 of the top 15 life science companies in oncology take advantage of Flatiron for their research activities.
Mobile app to control diabetes
With this app, 63 % of Type 2 diabetes patients who use the app eliminated diabetes-targeting medications after a year while 94% of patients eliminated or reduced their insulin usage. Basically, the app itself offers 2 components: dedicated diet coaching and virtual communication with a doctor who keeps control of the patient’s indicators. Along with reducing insulin dependence, diabetes patients lose weight and successfully control their blood pressure.
Sleep Management Apps
During the pandemic, we realized that minerals, vitamins, and healthy food are not the only factors that influence our immune system. The immune response directly depends on the quality of sleep. In today’s world, most people are dedicated to personal improvement and reaching career ambitions. Because of that, sleeping properly and solving sleep issues easily is a tough challenge.
Companies like Beddr offer solutions of this type. Thanks to their platform, people can actually understand why they can’t sleep or wake up during the night multiple times. In front of you, there will be a bunch of sleeping tests that you can go through to make your own conclusions. But, if that doesn’t help, Beddr also offers coaching for all those people that finally want to relax while sleeping. This form of apps and platforms is growing in 2024, and it has the potential to grow in the future.
Better Treatment of Patients
Well, the apps for better shift organization certainly can help doctors provide better services. But, there is another innovation that medical workers should know about. The product that supports the better treatment of patients is developed by companies like VillageMD. This company signed a partnership with Walgreens 2 years ago. The goal of this partnership was to build up a network of a big number of medical clinics. That way, doctors and other medical workers can ensure better communication and understand the expectations and necessities that patients have. This way of functioning is only available to Walgreens locations. But, imagine that other locations are covered with this innovation as well. We are sure the healthcare industry would function much better.
In-Home Healthcare Service
During the pandemic, things were pretty unpredictable. Unfortunately, the entire health industry had to stop. Many surgeries were delayed and not everyone could afford to go to a hospital. Fortunately, there are companies that realized that in-home healthcare services can solve the current problem. Companies like DispatchHealth made things easier for all the patients that need urgent home medical visits. Through the app, people can contact the medical team that is available and get the necessary help in a short period. We do not know in which direction the world will go, and this type of service is certainly going to become trendy in the future.
Apps for Panic Attacks and Anxiety
We do not want to say that the world we live in is awful. But, we also can’t neglect the negative side that we experience every day. During pandemics, we were constantly surrounded by negative news. Unfortunately, the same trend continued even after things calmed down. That is the reason why apps for panic attacks and anxiety have become one of the trending business ideas in 2024.
People need to calm down with different practices. That is the reason why a company with the simple name CALM has developed an app for relaxation, meditation, and better sleep. More precisely, their app helps people improve their mental health. Who says that we only have to worry about our physical health? According to many doctors, mental health is more relevant and its impact on our immune system is essential.
Conclusion
Increasing living costs, aging population, economic crises, pandemic create additional pressure on each healthcare forcing it to search for innovative solutions to tackle the situation. The way out is possible due to technologies ranging from mobile app development to big data and artificial intelligence.
