FLINT—Officials at the Louisville, Ky.-based healthcare business accelerator XLerateHealth announced the selection of six startup companies to participate in the 2021 cohort of startups at its Flint office.

This year’s program will be fully virtual following last year’s success in light of COVID adaptations. XLH Flint is funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the nonprofit business accelerator 100K Ideas, both based in Flint.

“We have seen exciting traction for XLH Flint companies over the last two years in regards to partnerships, funding and customer discovery,” said Jackie Willmot, CEO and co-founder of XLH. “We are excited to welcome a great class this year and are grateful for the continued support and engagement of the local Flint community.”

Over the last year, XLH Flint alumni companies have seen success including:

  • HealthOpX is working with Genesee County Free Medical Clinic, Latinos United for Flint and the University of Michigan Flint to submit a grant application to improve healthcare access and utilization. The organization is also in pilot phases with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.
  • Crosby Innovations entered into a patent and technology license partnership with Orlando-based Healthe Inc., which will manufacture a UVC 222nm cleaning device that cleanses hands or gloves of viruses and bacteria.

The Flint cohort kicks off its accelerator program on July 15, and will culminate with a virtual Demo Day pitch to investors, healthcare ecosystem partners, and the startup community Sept. 22. The 2021 cohort includes:

Adlore, based in Kalamazoo, is designing a new device for the treatment of lower extremity wounds, including diabetic/neuropathic foot ulcers, venous stasis leg wounds, arterial and ischemic ulcers. The device incorporates proprietary SenLore technology to improve healing rates by supplying heat, regulated electrical pulse stimulation to increase blood flow, and a feedback sensor to monitor performance.

DRS.LINQ, based in Newton, Penn., is creating a virtual cardiology office to enable enhanced connectivity between the patient and physician through proprietary vEKG and the mHeart app and cloud. The mHeart app uses remote monitoring technology to help break the cycle of clinicians sending patients with chest pain to the emergency room.

Intuitool Devices, Inc., based in St. Louis, Mo., is a medical device company that uses ergonomic designs to create innovative and cost-effective laparoscopic tools. These instruments provide adaptive surgical solutions to reduce surgeon discomfort from repetitive motion injury and enhance intra-operative functionality.

Isaab Innovations, based in Flint, is a physician-founded medical device company that has developed a patent protected syringe to improve medication delivery. MultiFlow syringe incorporates the flushing solution in one syringe to reduce catheter access, thereby reducing bloodstream infections, improving patient outcomes and reducing associated healthcare costs.

MyHelse, based in North Beach, Md., is service that uses data and analytics to identify early risks at both the individual and population health level. Focused on underserved populations, including native Americans,  MyHelse aims to improve care delivery and health outcomes through data-informed early intervention, lifestyle changes, care coordination, and financial planning.

Vern Health, based in East Lansing, detects emotions in communication in real time to support telehealth, customer service, and more. Vern Health uses proprietary AI diagnostic technology that integrates with any software stack with API, MLOps, and SDK deployments available.

Founded in 2012, XLH supports the development of healthcare innovation through its healthcare accelerator, which helps start-up founders commercialize their business and attract funding. XLerateHealth also leads the efforts to build and operate the XLerator Network, an NIH-funded partnership with the University of Kentucky along with 24 other academic institutions in the Southeast. The objective of this work is to increase the commercialization of promising life science and healthcare innovations in the NIH-designated Southeast Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states.

Find out more about XLH by visiting www.xleratehealth.com.