Shark Tank Finalists Ready to Jump into Deep End of PALTC Pool

January 2, 2019
Spotlight

Abely Solutions, Canopy Tools, Raiven Healthcare, and WoundWiseIQ. These four companies will compete in the Society’s 2nd annual Shark Tank competition, to be held at the 2019 annual conference in Atlanta, GA, March 7-10. Their innovations are all unique and their paths to the Shark Tank distinct, but they share an excitement about the opportunity to participate in this event and to interact with conference participants. As Canopy Tools CEO Elisabeth Michel, MPH, says, “When I heard about the Shark Tank, I thought it would be an incredible opportunity that would provide us with exposure and give us a platform to show practitioners and other stakeholders what we are doing. It also is an excellent opportunity for us to connect with other innovators in this space.”

Modeled after the popular television show, where individuals present their business ideas and models to a panel of successful entrepreneurs, the Society Shark Tank competition is a unique opportunity for innovators to share their ideas with the largest national audience in post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) medicine. Winners will be recognized for their cutting-edge ideas and have the opportunity to work with experienced innovators, frontline clinicians, and industry leaders to advance their concepts.

Here’s more information about the 2019 Shark Tank finalists:

  • Abely Solutions offers Abelift, a portable electric recliner designed to outfit any bed and make it adjustable. The recliner is motorized, allowing the user to sit, sleep at an incline, and recline in bed at the touch of a button. Unlike a traditional hospital bed, it is lightweight and portable.
  • Canopy Tools has a digital tool that enables people to learn about advance care planning, as well as to clarify, document, and share their end-of-life wishes. People can use the tool to answer simple questions related to end-of-life health care wishes, and the answers are populated into their advance directives.
  • Raiven Healthcare created a platform with socially assistive robotics that helps  people live more independently and enables  caregivers and practitioners to understand how their patients are functioning in their environment. The robotics enable more detailed knowledge of a person’s physical and cognitive state, including sleep and mobility patterns.
  • WoundWiseIQ offers a mobile imaging and analytics software application that streamlines and automatically documents chronic wounds. In clinical testing, the solution has captured wound data four times faster and with 96% accuracy compared to traditional and more expensive camera methods.

These innovators are eager to share their ideas with practitioners who are working with patients and care teams. As Jim Stefansic, PhD, MBA, Raiven Healthcare president and CEO, says, “The idea of getting our technology out to this audience is exciting to us. We look forward to getting feedback from Society members about how this can make their jobs easier and help them understand their patients better.”

Abely’s Founder Sabine Hairabedian notes, “Spreading the word about our product is challenging because we have a very limited budget for ads and have relied on social media. The visibility we’ll receive at the Society’s conference will be great exposure. It will be a wonderful opportunity for people to see and experience our product and the value for their patients.”

WoundWiseIQ CEO Gary Ross adds, “Several people in the industry told us that the Society is a great organization and that we needed to be a part of its Shark Tank competition. We’re looking forward to meeting practitioners and others in the industry and getting their input and ideas.”

The Finalists will present their innovations during the Shark Tank session on Thursday, March 7, from 1:30 to 3 PM and the Audience Award will be announced immediately following. The Judges’ Award will be announced the next day during the Opening General Session. Register now for the annual conference and be part of this exciting event.

Want to hear more about the Shark Tank competition and innovation? Listen to the 2018 Shark Tank winners talk with host Wayne Saltsman, MD, PhD, CMD, on this episode of the AMDA On-The-Go Podcast.