Sana Health and Lutroo Imaging beat out 70 other startups and early-stage companies to take home the grand prize at the inaugural American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) and MIT Hacking Medicine Innovation Challenge presented by Abbott on March 18, 2022. The grand prize includes the opportunity to work alongside Michael Hooten M.D., president of AAPM and professor of Anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic.
The Innovation Challenge, held at AAPM’s 38th Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a shark tank-style pitch competition pitting established startups, aspiring healthcare entrepreneurs, and researchers against one another with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of people living with pain.
“We believe the current challenges in pain medicine can be solved by innovative startups working hand-in-hand with leaders in clinical practice and research, and this type of event is something that has never really been done before by any national pain medicine organization,” says Innovation Challenge founder and Co-chair Salman Hirani, MD. “We’re extremely excited to build on the success of this event as we continue to support innovation in early-stage companies and the ideas from our community.”
From left to right: Innovation Challenge Co-chair Brian Mayrsohn, MD; AAPM President-elect Kayode Williams, MD; Sana Health Founder and CEO Richard Hanbury; AAPM President Michael Hooten, MD; and Innovation Challenge Co-chair Salman Hirani, MD.
Lutroo Imaging accepts their Innovation Challenge grand prize from AAPM President Michael Hooten, MD.
To win the grand prize of $100,000 of in-kind donations and mentorship opportunities, 13 finalists were selected from more than 70 competitors. Each finalist had five minutes to pitch followed by three minutes for questions from the judging panel made up of pain medicine experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, and potential investors.
“With the combined resources of MIT Hacking Medicine, the world’s most prestigious healthcare innovation group, Abbott, and AAPM’s network of pain clinicians, the collaborations stemming from the Innovation Challenge have the power to transform pain medicine,” says Innovation Challenge Co-chair Brian Mayrsohn, MD.
President-elect of AAPM Kayode Williams, MD, adds, “We’re incredibly excited for the future of AAPM and innovation within our subspecialty as we find novel ways to support startups working tirelessly to improve the lives of those suffering from pain.”
Grand prize winner Sana Health is an innovative wearable device using audiovisual stimulation to accelerate physical recovery and improve mental well-being by inducing a more restful state of mind.
Fellow grand prize winner, Lutroo Imaging, is a patented PET radiotracer that enables pain visualization and objective quantification for the first time.
Runner-up prizes went to Feather Health and Flat Medical, with Wellness Wits taking home the Abbott Prize for Pain Innovation.
The event also included a keynote address from Dr. John Halamka, a world-renowned expert in medical innovation and is President of the Mayo Clinic Platform, where he leads a portfolio of digital health companies.