HealthTech: Eden Prairie wins | UC launches new clinical trial | AI & medical research
- EDEN PRAIRIE, MN—Abilitech Medical, which creates assistive technology to help those with upper-limb neuromuscular weakness or injury, raised $2.9 million in capital thought a convertible note. Thirteen investors took part in the raise, which includes debt and equity.
- ALSO IN EDEN PRAIRIE—In collaboration with researchers at the Mayo Clinic, a life sciences company has successfully completed the first ever heterotopic implant of a bioengineered liver into pigs. Miromatrix Medical pioneered the technology for bioengineering fully transplantable organs. The pig that received the bioengineered liver maintained detectable hepatic health in the graft, sustained blood perfusion, and demonstrated early liver function post transplantation.
- CINCINNATI, OH—While we’re on the subject of livers, University of Cincinnati researchers are preparing to launch one of the first U.S. clinical trials that will study how a combination of immunotherapy and transplant can improve outcomes for liver cancer patients. The trial will use immunotherapy treatment, which helps boost and train the body’s own immune system to identify and kill cancer cells.
- ST. LOUIS, MO—To advance their precision medicine research, Washington University School of Medicine has adopted AI-based natural language processing tools to assist in sorting their unstructured electronic health record data. The researchers will initially focus on diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, lung cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
- NASHVILLE, TN—A company that has created an app that screens children for vision impairments has raised $10 million in a Series B funding round. GoCheckKids moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Nashville in 2018. Hatteras Venture Partners and Pisgah Fund (affiliated with HCA) co-led the round.