A half dozen digital health startups went head to head this weekend in a pitch contest hosted by the American Heart Association
The competition’s cohort ranged from well-known heavy hitters like Welldoc to Korean hospital spinout Vuno, but in the end it was Pittsburgh-based Forest Devices that claimed top honors from both the contest’s eight judges and its audience.
“Our solution is AlphaSTROKE, a portable, noninvasive device designed to provide EMS with fast, objective and accurate stroke identification and severity information,” Andrew Maza, VP of clinical affairs at Forest Devices, said on stage during his presentation.
Comprised of head-worn EEG caps and connected artificial intelligence technology, the system can identify whether the patient has experienced a stroke within one minute, he said. In less than five minutes, it provides a binary output on the patient’s condition that helps medics direct that patient to the most appropriate healthcare facilities.