Every year, TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield competition attracts thousands of applicants. We narrow these applications down to the top 200 contenders, and of those, the top 20 compete on the big stage to become the winner, taking home the Startup Battlefield Cup and a $100,000 cash prize. But the remaining 180 startups all blew us away in their respective categories and are competing in their own competition.
Here’s the full list of Health and Wellness Startup Battlefield 200 picks, along with a note on why they landed in the competition.
Akara
What it does: It uses AI sensors and autonomous UV disinfection robots to prepare operating rooms for surgery faster.
Why it’s notable: Doing more surgeries in a day not only helps patients but also makes more money for hospitals.
Arm Bionics
What it does: This Armenian startup develops 3D-printed prosthetic hands.
Why it’s notable: The bionic arm is relatively affordable, making it extremely affordable in its area.
ArtSkin
What it does: Develops electronic artificial skin with sensors to restore the sense of touch for people with prosthetic limbs.
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Why it’s notable: The technology is non-invasive and can be integrated with existing prostheses.
AWEAR
What does he do?: Ear-worn EEG device monitors and provides feedback on chronic stress.
Why it’s notable: Just like a Fitbit tracks steps, this wearable helps people take charge by measuring brain activity to guide them in reducing stress levels.
Axoft
What it does: Development of a tiny brain implant that communicates with the nervous system to treat severe neurological conditions.
Why it’s notable: The soft material helps the technology to be safely attached to the nervous system for many years to treat serious diseases.
Care hero
What it does: It facilitates a technologically empowered network of caregivers for the elderly and disabled.
Why it’s notable: Recipients or lack thereof of caregivers using technology to maximize the number of patients a caregiver treats.
Che Innovations Uganda
What it does: This Ugandan startup develops medical devices, including the NeoNest, an affordable transport warmer for premature babies.
Why it’s notable: Because rural areas of Africa do not have access to transport incubators.
ELLUSTRÖS
What it does: It provides technology that uses AI and image analysis to adjust body posture in the seats for an ergonomic fit.
Why it’s notable: Eliminates the need to manually adjust chair settings, reduces injuries and boosts productivity.
Endless Health
What it does: Provides home health assessments to predict heart health and metabolic disease.
Why it’s notable: Possibility of early detection of the disease without a visit to the doctor.
Eos
What it does: Cleaning, compressing and harmonizing fragmented data stored in electronic medical records.
Why it’s notable: Medical data standardization can help improve AI model performance.
Food for Health
What it does: It offers a personalized food and grocery shopping guide.
Why it’s notable: The implementation of the startup helps consumers choose foods that support their specific health needs with scientific certainty.
GLITCHERS Lab
What it does: He uses video games to collect brain data for health research, specifically Alzheimer’s disease.
Why it’s notable: Gamification of cognitive tests to generate a large data set.
Innov8 AI
What it does: It uses AI to analyze social media and highlight subversive master narratives.
Why it’s notable: The tool helps companies quickly notice adverse brand sentiment and reputational risks.
Lexi AI
What it does: It provides a multilingual medical interpretation with artificial intelligence.
Why it’s notable: Fast and cost-effective medical translations can save lives.
MariTest
What it does: Development of a bloodless, rapid diagnostic tool for the early detection and treatment of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.
Why it’s notable: Its bloodless technology removes reliance on medical technicians, speeding up diagnosis in rural areas.
Meo Health
What it does: A tech-enabled recovery program for long-term Covid sufferers.
Why it’s notable: The company’s drug-free approach has been clinically proven to improve patients’ symptoms.
Money
What it does: An AI-powered platform that uses a smartphone camera to analyze the user’s eyelid to monitor and reduce the risk of anemia and iron deficiency.
Why it’s notable: The company’s non-invasive test claims to catch anemia easily and quickly.
Close to the wave
What it does: This startup’s non-invasive, wearable device claims it can measure oxygen saturation and hemoglobin concentrations.
Why it’s notable: This is a less painful and faster way to collect some of the vital biomarkers.
Neural movement
What it does: Development of a non-invasive brain-computer interface that allows paralyzed patients to instantly communicate basic and customized messages through an “open-to-speech” function.
Why it’s notable: Unlike invasive devices, it can restore communication for paralyzed patients quickly and affordably.
NUSEUM
What it does: A B2B precision nutrition AI platform that turns a person’s complex health data into evidence-based food, grocery and recipe recommendations.
Why it’s notable: The company’s recommendations can help customers in the food delivery, e-commerce, diagnostics, health and insurance sectors offer better food choices to end customers.
Ovulio Corp.
What it does: Saliva-based hormone monitoring to help manage fertility, menopause and medical conditions like PCOS.
Why it’s notable: Unlike alternatives, the non-invasive device is reusable.
Lighthouse
What it does: It automates the extraction of patient safety data from medical records for reporting to regulatory agencies.
Why of remarkable: Using artificial intelligence, Pharos helps free up clinical staff time while preventing patient deaths and harm.
PillarBiome
What it does: It uses artificial intelligence to provide personalized, science-backed health recommendations by analyzing your gut microbiome data.
Why it’s notable: The microbiome is full of rich data that could inform personalized dietary recommendations for better health.
RADICAIT
What it does: This Oxford spinout uses artificial intelligence to convert routine CT scans into PET-style scans, bypassing the need for rare, expensive PET imaging.
Why of remarkable: Obtaining PET-level information from a regular CT scan is much faster and cheaper.
Peaceful sleep
What it does: A simple, minimally invasive procedure to permanently stop snoring and treat sleep apnea.
Why of remarkable: It addresses the widespread problem of snoring and sleep apnea, a condition that might otherwise require the use of bulky devices like CPAP masks.
Some other place
What it does: This startup, recently renamed Hug, connects users with trained, empathetic human listeners for real-time peer support.
Why of remarkable: People often feel better after sharing concerns and emotional burdens without judgment.
SpotitEarly
What it does: An at-home cancer breath test that uses AI technology and trained dogs to sniff out multiple early-stage cancers from compounds in a patient’s breath sample.
Why it’s notable: Based on studies showing that dogs can use their powerful sense of smell to detect cancer, this startup is creating a new method to incorporate this unique ability into an early diagnosis.
Sybil Health
What it does: She offers science-backed, holistic treatments, along with lifestyle adjustments, to help women manage the hormonal changes of menopause.
Why of remarkable: She advises women how to manage menopausal symptoms with hormones or through complementary alternative and naturopathic treatments.
Vital Audio
What it does: It uses bioacoustics technology to capture vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory measurements from short voice samples.
Why it’s notable: It allows health systems to monitor thousands of patients, especially those in remote areas.
VIZQ Technologies
What it does: It uses artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology to make speech and language therapy for children more accessible.
Why of remarkable: It helps bridge the gap created by the lack of speech therapists.
Vocadian
What does he do?: Uses voice AI to diagnose fatigue in the frontline workforce.
Why it’s notable: The company’s technology could increase productivity and help prevent accidents.
Yuzi Care
What it does: It suits families with childbirth and care providers.
Why it’s notable: Part of a wave of digital startups for maternal and postpartum health.
Zemi Labs
What it does: It is developing “smart clothes” for athletes that can capture and analyze athletes’ heart, muscles, skin and movements.
Why it’s notable: Unlike wearable devices, Zemi’s clothing captures a wide range of biomarkers, which could ultimately aid in performance.
