Wisconsin Inno Fire Awards 2021: Meet the 5 health tech finalists

Whether the pandemic dramatically increased demand for their product or slowed their business due to the pressing priority of addressing Covid-19, the finalists in the health technology category of Wisconsin Inno's 2021 Fire Awards felt the impact of the pandemic acutely.

The annual Fire Awards program recognizes companies, groups and organizations that are "heating up" the state's technology ecosystem, and many of the companies in this category are heating up big time as a result of pandemic-related factors.

The following finalists were nominated by the public and selected by the Wisconsin Inno and Milwaukee Business Journal editorial team. A panel of independent judges will choose one winner from each of the five Fire Awards categories.

We asked all of the Fire Awards finalists about their accomplishments, challenges and how Wisconsin's startup and technology ecosystem could be improved. Their answers have been edited for clarity and length.

Child Health Imprints

Madison / Singapore

Led by Harpreet Singh, Child Health Imprints is a Singapore-based startup that has established a presence in Madison in the last year. It's focused on improving the quality of neonatal health care through technologies including the internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence and predictive analysis. The company's NEO hardware device collects live physiological and video data from medical devices connected to newborns, its iNICU plugin captures clinical and laboratory data from electronic medical records, and its intelligence layer analyzes the data to enhance health outcomes.

Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "The products are currently in use in India, South Korea and Singapore and are generating revenue. In the last 12 months, we have brought (our) exclusive intellectual property (to Wisconsin) and raised local Wisconsin capital to expand this into a global product. We expanded its use in North America through co-development, product analysis and evaluations being conducted in collaborations with SSM Health and the University of Wisconsin-Madison."

Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "Supply chain and travel restrictions due to Covid have been our major obstacles. Since the hardware manufacturing is currently done in South Korea, the logistics of getting them developed and shipped to Wisconsin were a major roadblock. We have identified an electronic manufacturing supplier in Wisconsin and (are) hoping to bring the hardware development capabilities along with additional jobs in the Wisconsin area in the coming years."

Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "We aim to complete bedside usage of technology in (neonatal intensive care units) across Wisconsin with institutions like American Family Children's Hospital, SSM Health, Children's Wisconsin and Bellin Health. We also aim to build manufacturing capabilities in Wisconsin before we start exporting this technology to many demanding customers in Canada and Europe."

How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "Currently, in Wisconsin, there is a paucity of forward-looking deep-tech funds that are pre-allocated to future growth areas. Existing funds are mostly located in the Madison and Milwaukee areas and are not uniformly distributed. It will be helpful if more funds are raised in the state, as it will help the state to improve the ecosystem, foster entrepreneurship and develop better talent and employment opportunities in areas that create a forward-looking society."

Inspiring thought leader: "We have always been inspired by our advisors Dr. Giulio Tononi and Dr. Tom Erickson at UW-Madison, who have been doing translation work and helping to foster the growth of innovation in the healthcare domain."

EnsoData

Madison

Founded by Chris Fernandez, Sam Rusk and Nick Glattard, EnsoData develops artificial intelligence-powered (AI) software that leverages health care data in order to help providers be more accurate, efficient and cost-effective. Its flagship product EnsoSleep, which does sleep scoring and analysis for sleep technicians, received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this year. The company has more than doubled its staff to 27 from 12 in May 2020.

Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "The company achieved FDA 510(k) clearance of new capabilities and enhancements to EnsoSleep, a revolutionary artificial-intelligence assisted sleep scoring and analysis solution that empowers clinicians and providers with invaluable information allowing them to make faster, more precise diagnoses of sleep apnea. EnsoData also secured a partnership with Cadwell, a global leader in neurodiagnostic and neuromonitoring solutions, which became the first sleep diagnostic equipment provider to integrate EnsoSleep into its software platform."

Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "Amid a remarkable year marked by a number of standout accomplishments and milestones, EnsoData found itself needing to expand its team to meet its accelerating growth trajectory. While the demand for tech talent across the nation has increased dramatically, the crunch could be felt more acutely in Wisconsin."

Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "Currently, on an annualized basis, we help more than 250,000 patients per year with EnsoData’s technology solutions. ... We have plans in place to grow and help 1 million and more patients per year to get sleep diagnosis in a way that's more accurate, lower cost and more widely accessible."

How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "Though the barriers of entry to tech in Wisconsin are evolving, the state’s startup scene could benefit from increased seed investment for early entrepreneurs looking to launch new startups."

Inspiring thought leader: Former Cisco Systems CEO and University of Wisconsin-Madison alumnus John Morgridge

GrandCare Systems

West Bend

GrandCare Systems, which provides telehealth and home monitoring services for senior care, initially went to market in 2006 and has seen its business triple due to the pandemic, as individuals and organizations suddenly needed telehealth, remote patient monitoring and virtual visit technology. The product is a large tablet device that also has social engagement features including chat capabilities, games, photo sharing and radio access.

Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "During the pandemic we realized that GrandCare could really positively affect social determinants of health. Not only could we help connect our users with their family through video chat, messaging and photo sharing, but we could also provide a more entertaining, more engaging and more empowering experience. So we set out to develop and enhance the GrandCare engagement features including game expansion, the addition of audio books, streaming radio, old-time radio programs, exercise videos and more."

Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "Getting nearly a thousand GrandCare touchscreens installed into homes of our Wisconsin-based Medicare Advantage partner without anyone being able to go inside because of the pandemic. ... To meet this challenge, we set up a call center and staffed it with people experienced with helping older folks with technology. Then we created new package inserts that included detailed instructions on how to set up your GrandCare as well as a prominent invitation to call us for installation help."

Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "In Q1 of 2022, we will be rolling out a pilot of 400-plus GrandCare units to elderly people living at home in the state of New York. This will be the result of an exciting new partnership with organizations in the Albany area that are receiving state grant money for the project. ... Through this partnership and several others like it, we expect to double our revenue in 2022, just as we did in 2021."

How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "What our ecosystem really needs is a campaign to help people lose what we call 'the bi-coastal bias.' It seems as if anyone with an app or an idea can raise tens of millions of dollars — if they live in San Francisco or New York or Portland. If you’re in Cincinnati or Kansas City or Green Bay, it’s a different story. It’s not because there isn’t great technology — and great technologists — in these midwestern places. It’s because of a bias against non-coastal innovation."

Inspiring thought leader: Nonprofit disability service provider LADD

Sift Healthcare

Milwaukee

Founded by Justin Nicols, Sift Healthcare is a data and analytics company in the health care payments industry. Its artificial intelligence and machine learning integrations are designed to help health systems to protect revenue and decrease collection costs. The company raised $2 million in the past year, signed six multi-billion-dollar U.S. health systems as pilot customers and doubled its team. As a Milwaukee-based company, Sift said it's committed to hiring from local universities and has been supported by local investors.

Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "Sift has added six pilot partners to our client list – multi-billion-dollar U.S. health systems. These contracts are propelling our growth. ... We have doubled our team in the past 12 months, mostly adding data scientists and data engineers, many coming from Wisconsin universities. ... We expect to double our team again in the coming year."

Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "Our work and momentum were affected by Covid. Health care systems' full-fledged focus on Covid temporarily slowed our growth trajectory. However, this pause provided Sift time and space to refine our platform, address how Covid impacted health care payments and scale our team."

Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "We expect to double our client base. We also will be raising a significant round of funding that will enable us to grow our team and expand our product offerings."

How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "The Wisconsin technology startup ecosystem is vibrant and motivated. It’s also a tight-knit community where connections are solid and essential. We tend to stay comfortable in this arena, networking with each other and focusing on the same industries. ... As a community, we need to define a culture that thinks big ... solving more complex and diverse problems, pursuing aggressive investment, being intentionally disruptive and soliciting louder promotion."

Inspiring podcast: "Masters of Scale" with LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman

Smartcare Software

Eau Claire

Co-founded by Scott Zielski and Bill Mattle in 2016, Smartcare Software is a home care platform for caregiver providers, with electronic medical record and point-of-care capabilities. The company said it has increased its revenue by 600% and tripled the number of its Wisconsin-based team members since January 2019. This year, it launched a tool aimed at solving the home caregiver shortage. It includes a caregiver engagement system, automation tools for the hiring process and a caregiver-client matching solution powered by machine learning.

Biggest accomplishment in the past 12 months: "In 2021, Smartcare introduced a Caregiver Hiring and Retention Toolset that leverages the latest research in machine learning, gamification and advanced automation to solve home care’s staffing and retention crisis while providing a superior user and client experience. Early data shows that home care providers using Smartcare’s Hiring and Retention Toolset see a 3x improvement in staff retention and a 52% improvement in applicant-to-hire ratios over the industry average."

Biggest challenge in the past 12 months: "One of Smartcare’s challenges is hiring top Wisconsin-based talent with an entrepreneurial mindset to help fuel (our) growth. ... However, we’re winning talent with our compelling mission and our ability to create challenging roles with significant growth potential.”

Milestone the organization is working toward in the next 12 months: "We plan to complete our next successful funding round to support our continued growth and innovation. We’re also planning to expand our platform beyond the United States and increase our market leadership presence."

How Wisconsin’s technology and startup ecosystem could be improved: "Providing more resources and rewards directly to entrepreneurs at the government level is crucial to supporting startups. Company founders often take staggering financial and personal risks during a company’s initial development as they create jobs within our state. Unfortunately, tax credits and benefits are available for investors who provide some of the funding but not for founders who make these significant financial and personal investments. To encourage more job creation and growth in Wisconsin’s startup ecosystem, the government should recognize and reward the personal investment of its entrepreneurs with the same credits and benefits offered to investor groups."