DENVER, CO--Medical device startup HeartHero won the AngelMD InnovatED Innovation Challenge at the 50th American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Conference and Trade Show. In addition to winning the competitive pitch, HeartHero received an opportunity to open a syndicate funding round with AngelMD, connected with some of the country's top emergency physicians and spoke to companies that invest in lifesaving technology.
More than 60 emergency medicine startups applied to participate in the InnovatED Innovation Challenge. A committee of fifty emergency physicians selected eight finalists -- four medical device and four digital health startups – to present during the competition. Following the pitches, a panel of emergency physicians along with votes from the audience determined the winners.
By building a next-generation automated external defibrillator (AED), HeartHero will close the gap between sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and when help arrives. The majority of people who suffer an out-of-the-hospital SCA die because EMS is unable to arrive within the critical window of time to save victims. With its portable, easy-to-use AED, HeartHero aims to help bystanders and family members save lives by strengthening the chain of survival.
Earlier in this year, HeartHero closed a $1.5 million seed-round of funding, which included a $250,000 grant from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and $250,000 from PIC Investment Group Inc., a Canadian Family Office. The company is working to make this lifesaving technology more accessible and attractive to the consumer market, while simultaneously creating a better alternative for existing business and institutional markets.
"Our passion and commitment is aimed at empowering everyone, anywhere to save a life," said Gary Montague, CEO and founder of HeartHero. "We know that there is only one way to help bring back a loved one from SCA, and that is the timely application of an AED. We have spent countless hours analyzing the experiences and human impact of any given SCA event in order to provide the public with a device and the empowerment they deserve."
SOURCE: HeartHero