Rock Health welcomes 11 new startups for their fifth class

By Thuc Huynh, MD

Rock Health, the first seed accelerator specifically for health technology startups, has revealed their newest class for the 2013 season.  Eleven startups will have the chance of a lifetime receiving a slew of perks including $100,000 investment, free legal advice, free design help from Cooper Design, and mentorship from tech giants such as Microsoft, Genentech, the makers of Guitar Hero, and more.

This year's class had many services for providers and large healthcare organizations.  But there were a couple patient-centered groups.  To me, there was one company that stood out the most as a promising tool to change healthcare -- Fluid.  Fluid touts they can help people diagnose the flu in minutes, without the need for a doctor's visit.  But how?  A home kit with fluid analysis similar to a home pregnancy test?  A sophisticated question/answer algorithm?  Whatever the case, if it works and is easily accessible to all ranges of patients, then this could be a huge game-changer.  It could decrease unnecessary emergency room visits during the flu season saving a ton of money for the patient which would also decrease the risk of spreading the infection into already ill patients.  I am excited to see what they will bring to the table.

Without further ado, here are Rock Health's 11 startups :

1. Amplify Health - builds population management tools for at risk provider groups
2. Anapsis - a research platform and marketplace for scientific and statistical computing
3. Augmedix - service for medical doctors that's powered by Google Glass
4. CancerIQ - harnesses big data to accelerate personalized cancer care
5. CRIXlabs - builds software for de-risking drug development
6. Fluid - helps people diagnose the flu in minutes, without the doctor's visit
7. Lift Labs - makes active stabilization tools for people living with tremor
8. Sensentia - developing a new breed of intelligent systems for healthcare administration and operation
9. Smart Patients - an online community for motivated cancer patients and their caregivers
10. Spire - a wearable sensor that tracks both physical and psychological fitness to lower stress and increase productivity
11. ThriveOn - delivers mobile mental health programs from screen to treatment customized for every individual

For more information, read the release here.