Digital health startups to watch:
Avail Medsystems
The Avail Medsystems telepresence console can beam video, audio and information to laptops and tablets. [Photo courtesy of Avail Medsystems]
It’s pitched as a way to let surgical experts and medical device representatives be in more places than if they were traveling in person.
Avail recently partnered with Medtronic Neurovascular to let neurosurgeons use Avail’s operating room consoles during stroke procedures — and connect virtually with other surgeons or Medtronic for assistance, training or other real-time communication.
“It’s a beautiful platform and a beautiful technology … to engage with the physician who’s working through the procedure,” Medtronic Neurovascular President Dan Volz said in an interview.
Avail is also opening its hardware up for third-party software developers this year, making it easier for software-as-a-medical-device (SaMD) makers to get into operating rooms.
Avail founder and CEO Daniel Hawkins launched the marketing and sales department for Intuitive Surgical, which developed the Da Vinci system that is now considered the leader in surgical robotics.
Related: Dr. Fred Moll and Daniel Hawkins discuss the digital OR
Hawkins later co-founded Shockwave Medical, one of the fastest-growing companies in medtech — and reportedly an acquisition target for Boston Scientific along with Johnson & Johnson MedTech and Medtronic.
Given that track record, keep an eye on Avail to see what’s next.
