The United States of digital health: Therapeutic Devices

As we've touched on in previous posts, healthcare needs technology in order to advance it's capabilities and deliver on the staggering potential of what tech-enabled healthcare can achieve.

This broad statement can be refined a bit, though, to say that healthcare needs to adopt more technologically advanced tools within patient and provider workflows; even further, these tools need to rethink the way a provider administers or a patient receives care. They need to be easier to use than previous methods, they need to be efficient and save clinicians' time, and most importantly, new technology in healthcare has to make living a viably healthier life possible for more patients.

While sounding like a straightforward-enough directive, this is an incredibly tall task—healthcare is an expansive field, and often people don't realize how many use cases require specific therapeutic tools and devices. This variance across workflows makes forward progress difficult for the industry at large because adoption takes time, and even when it does happen, it may only affect one workflow within one vertical.

Redox is solving this rate-of-adoption problem, but in the mean time, digital health technologists have already developed a myriad new ways for patients to receive better care and live healthier lives. Already in use at health systems across the country, we looked into the top therapeutic device companies in America and are sharing their innovative new tools with you.

WESTERN

Autonomic Technologies — Mountain View, California: is a medical device company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of autonomic disorders, particularly severe headache. The company’s initial product, the Pulsante® Microstimulator, is CE marked in Europe for the treatment of cluster headache.

Apollo Endosurgery — San Diego, California: Apollo Endosurgery is an interventional medical device company focused on revolutionizing minimally invasive surgery through its flexible endoscopic surgery platform and Lap-Band® product.

Vertos Medical — Aliso Viejo, California: Vertos Medical is committed to developing innovative, minimally invasive treatments for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Its proprietary technologies include mild®, which offers a safe, outpatient, minimally invasive, fluoroscopically guided therapeutic LSS treatment that requires no general anesthesia, no implants, and no stitches.

Confluent Medical Technologies — Fremont, California: Confluent Medical Technologies is dedicated to taking projects from rapid prototype into high volume production, delivering world-class medical devices through innovative material science, engineering, and manufacturing. Their primary capabilities include: nitinol components, balloon expandable stents and balloon catheters, delivery systems, biomedical textiles, access kits, and guidewires.

Moximed — Hayward, California: Moximed Inc. is dedicated to improving the standard of care for patients with osteoarthritis, and is investigating therapies to treat a number of affected joints. The lead product, the KineSpring® Knee Implant System, is designed for patients with knee osteoarthritis.

SetPoint Medical — Santa Clarita, California: SetPoint Medical is developing novel bioelectronic medicine therapies to treat those who suffer from inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's Disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The company is developing a proprietary and innovative bioelectronic medicine platform consisting of a micro-regulator programmed via a unique prescription pad based interface.

Adavium Medical — Palo Alto, California: Adavium was formed with the intent to bring commercial sophistication to a highly fragmented market, partnering with some of the most innovative companies in the world, and developing and commercializing complementary high-quality, yet cost-effective, products that they develop on their own for the value-based – or “long tail” – segment of the market in Brazil and in other emerging markets.

ExThera Medical — Martinez, California: ExThera Medical Corporation is developing revolutionary medical devices that address unmet clinical needs for the treatment of bloodstream infections and pathogen-reduction in blood banking. Their focus is on therapeutic applications to treat drug-resistant and drug-susceptible bloodstream infections in high-risk patient populations, but also intends to develop a device that prophylactically safeguards banked human blood.

BioTheranostics — San Diego, California: Biotheranostics, Inc., is a leader in helping physicians improve the care of cancer patients, offering a suite of proprietary genomics-based molecular diagnostics that allow treatment to be tailored to individual patients.

Inari Medical — Aliso Viejo, California: Inari Medical is a medical device company pioneering devices for the interventional treatment of vascular thrombi and emboli.

Sommetrics — Vista, California: Sommetrics develops products and services aimed at enhancing health and well-being by improving sleep quality. The company’s proprietary technology targets disorders related to the narrowing of the airway during sleep, such as obstructive sleep apnea and chronic snoring. Sommetrics has an FDA-cleared and CE-marked acute care product, which addresses airway narrowing commonly caused by mild to moderate sedation.

Glaukos — San Clemente, California: Glaukos Corporation is an ophthalmic medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of breakthrough products and procedures to transform the treatment of glaucoma, one of the world’s leading causes of blindness. Glaukos has pioneered Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, or MIGS, to revolutionize the traditional glaucoma treatment and management paradigm.

Dart Neuroscience — San Diego, California: Dart NeuroScience is discovering new technologies and developing new therapies to help maintain cognitive vitality throughout life. DNS's mission is to become the leading specialized pharmaceutical company for memory disorders by focusing on the discovery and development of innovative drugs with new mechanisms of action.

LoneStar Heart — Irvine, California: LoneStar Heart, Inc. is developing new therapies to preserve and restore adequate heart function in patients with Advanced Heart Failure (HF). The company’s lead product, Algisyl, is an alginate hydrogel that is implanted into the wall of the left ventricle to treat patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Imthera Medical — San Diego, California: ImThera Medical designs and manufactures a fully implantable medical device for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): the THN Sleep Therapy. ImThera's sleep apnea implant delivers muscle tone to key tongue muscles during sleep, opening the upper airway and substantially reducing or eliminating OSA events.

Prometheus Laboratories — San Diego, California: Prometheus Laboratories Inc. is committed to improving lives through the development and commercialization of novel pharmaceutical and diagnostic products that enable physicians to provide greater individualized patient care.

Outset Medical — San Jose, California: Outset is a pioneering medical technology company that always puts the patient before the machine. Their human-centered model is designed to dramatically improve not only the care experience – for patients, families, providers and physicians alike – but also cost-efficiencies for providers.

PulmonX — Redwood City, California: Pulmonx is focused on developing life-changing technologies that improve the lives of patients suffering from lung disease. Their first commercial products address emphysema, a form of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and the largest unmet medical need in Pulmonology.

Nevro — Menlo Park, California: Nevro is a global medical device company focused on providing innovative products that improve the quality of life of patients suffering from debilitating chronic pain. Nevro has developed and commercialized the Senza spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system, an evidence-based neuromodulation platform for the treatment of chronic pain.

Relievant Medsystems — Redwood City, California: Relievant Medsystems, Inc., a privately held medical device company pioneering the INTRACEPT therapy of nerve ablation within vertebral bodies for the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP).

RefleXion Medical — Hayward, California: Reflexion aims to transform cancer treatment and impact the lives of millions of patients around the world through the development of the first biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) system for solid tumor treatment.

Penumbra — Alameda, California: Penumbra designs, develops, manufactures and markets innovative devices and has a broad portfolio of products that addresses challenging medical conditions and significant clinical needs across two major markets, neuro and peripheral vascular.

Palo Alto Health Sciences — Danville, California: Palo Alto Health Sciences is a leader in innovative, clinically-proven, non-invasive, drug-free solutions for behavioral health conditions.Their first product, Freespira, is an FDA-cleared treatment for Panic Disorder (PD) and the symptoms of panic (including panic attacks) which clients use twice-daily at-home for one month under the supervision of a healthcare provider.

Cianna Medical — Aliso Viejo, California: Cianna Medical is committed to easing the burden of breast cancer on women and their families by developing unparalleled technologies to improve the treatment process for both patients and doctors. Their product, SAVI Brachytherapy, delivers targeted and individualized radiation treatment in less time, with less toxicity, giving more women the option to receive radiation treatment.

Element Science — San Francisco, California: Element Science develops life saving wearable solutions with user-centric design based on a rigorous approach to medical device development and the integration and application of data science and machine learning. Their first product aims to redefine treatment for sudden cardiac death, a disease that claims over 300,000 lives in the US every year.

eNeura Therapeutics — Sunnyvale, California: eNeura Therapeutics is pioneering the use of portable, non-invasive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) devices for treatment of migraines. Prescribed by physicians but designed for patient use, it is the first truly portable, convenient TMS product that will allow migraine patients to administer treatment as needed—at home, in the office, or on the go

CoolSystems — Alameda, California: CoolSystems is a medical device maker focused on treating post-surgical orthopedic sports injuries. The company operates primarily through its flagship product GameReady. The GameReady device essentially provides ice cold water and pressure to injured joints/body parts.

Axonics Modulation Technologies — Irvine, California: Axonics Modulation Technologies, Inc is a privately-held medical device company developing an innovative neuromodulation platform based on miniaturized rechargeable technology. The Axonics Sacral Neuromodulation System™ is the first CE-marked rechargeable SNM system designed to improve the life of patients suffering from Urinary and Fecal dysfunction.

Aerin Medical — Santa Clara, California: Aerin Medical, Inc. develops devices and procedures to improve nasal breathing. Aerin’s treatments are specifically designed to address nasal congestions and obstruction in the Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) physician’s office, where they can be administered in minutes under the use of a local anesthetic and minimal prep time.

Avinger — Redwood City, California: Avinger designs, manufactures, and sells image-guided, catheter-based systems for the treatment of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Their mission is to radically change the way vascular disease is treated through the introduction of products based on its lumivascular platform, the only intravascular image-guided system of therapeutic catheters available.

SynCardia Systems — Tucson, Arizona: SynCardia Systems manufactures the world's first and only FDA, Health Canada, and CE approved Total Artificial Heart. For people suffering from end-stage heart failure affecting both sides of the heart (biventricular failure), the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart is used as a bridge to transplant, helping them survive until a matching donor heart becomes available.

Valley Respiratory Services — Mesa, Arizona: Valley Respiratory envisions a comprehensive approach to treatment of respiratory disorders by offering a range of respiratory equipment. Their mission is to provide the highest quality patient care by offering the best education, recommending the right equipment, and delivering an outstanding level of customer service to patients and referral sources.

CyMedica Orthopedics — Scottsdale, Arizona: CyMedica Orthopedics develops and commercializes innovative products that target muscle atrophy using its platform technology. That technology includes the first closed-loop power control system to provide patients comfortable yet aggressive treatment.

Ekos — Bothell, Washington: EKOS Corporation pioneered the development and the clinical application of ultrasound accelerated thrombolysis, introducing its first system for the treatment of vascular thrombosis in 2005.

Kona Medical — Bellevue, Washington: Kona Medical has developed an innovative and non-invasive therapy for the treatment of hypertension and other disorders. Their flagship product, the Surround Sound® Hypertension Therapy System, provides a one-time, non-invasive therapy for hypertension using ultrasound imaging to robotically guide the delivery of focused ultrasound energy for renal denervation (RDN).

Nativis — Seattle, Washington: Nativis is a clinical stage bioelectronics company developing non-invasive therapies for cancers and other serious diseases. At the interface of chemistry and physics, their proprietary Radio Frequency Energy (RFE) technology regulates defined bioactive targets by specific modulation of charge pathways.

Calypso Medical Technologies — Seattle, Washington: Calypso Medical’s proprietary tumor localization system utilizes miniaturized implanted devices (Beacon® electromagnetic transponders) to continuously, accurately and objectively track the location of tumors for improved accuracy and management of radiation therapy delivery. The technology is designed for body-wide cancers commonly treated with radiation therapy.

Surefire Medical — Westminster, Colorado: Surefire Medical develops innovative infusion systems for the Interventional Radiology and the Interventional Oncology markets. Surefire’s technology is designed to precisely deliver embolic agents through a unique microcatheter with an expandable tip, which collapses during forward flow to allow normal blood flow to carry therapy as close to the tumor as possible.

Terumo BCT — Lakewood, Colorado: Terumo BCT is a global leader in blood component, therapeutic apheresis and cellular technologies serving customers in more than 120 countries.

BackJoy Orthotics — Boulder, Colorado: BackJoy’s easy-to-use products and personal wellness initiatives help users naturally sit, stand and sleep better to produce positive, life-changing results.