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28 CIO / HEALTH IT 12 Healthcare Startup Incubators and Accelerators to Know By Laura Dyrda H ealthcare innovation incubators and accelerators around the country are helping entrepreneurs grow and develop their startup companies with funding, mentorship and investment resources. Here are 12 healthcare innovation incubators and accelerators based around the U.S. is list was compiled through editorial research. Blueprint Health (New York). Blueprint Health invests $20,000 in 20 health IT companies annually and provides staff as well as mentors to work with companies for three months on indi- vidual business goals. e mentors have expe- rience raising capital, building markets, gaining customers and refining a sales pitch. Blueprint Health continues to support alumni founders through the company building process. Dreamit Health (Philadelphia). Dreamit Health's program is designed to support break- through startups. e health tech accelerator helps companies scale their business and build relationships with payers, providers, pharma- ceutical companies and academic institutions. Dreamit Health also provides a framework for the company's growth and development and culminates with a two-week roadshow to raise financing. Healthbox (Chicago). Healthbox was founded in 2011 as one of the first healthcare-fo- cused accelerator programs in the country. e accelerator works with early-stage companies to develop healthcare web applications, informat- ics and devices. e participants work alongside other startups to develop and test assumptions and receive seed capital. Health Wildcatters (Dallas). Health Wild- catters is a mentor-driven seed accelerator designed to support healthcare entrepreneurs and startups with a 12-week program and ini- tial seed investment. e accelerator also pro- vides mentors, advisors, office space and stra- tegic resources for growth. Health Wildcatters supports companies focused on digital health, mhealth, health IT, medical devices, pharma- ceuticals and diagnostics. The Iron Yard (Asheville, N.C.). e Iron Yard is a seed stage investment firm. Since 2012, it has invested in more than 62 ear- ly-stage technology companies that went on to raise more than $100 million. e Iron Yard provides mentorship for company founders to grow ideas as well as capital for startup and value-generating relationships. e company's digital health accelerator is located in Spartan- burg, S.C., and offers startups $20,000 in seed capital along with three months of mentorship and workshops. Matter (Chicago). Matter is a healthcare inno- vation incubator that brings together healthcare and life sciences entrepreneurs and industry lead- ers in a 25,000-square-foot space. Matter includes the American Medical Association Interaction Studio, which replicates an outpatient environ- ment; e Shop for medical device prototyping; and e Stimulation Stage, which is a high-acu- ity simulation environment constructed through a partnership with Jump Training Education and Simulation Center at OSF Healthcare. MedStartr (New York). MedStartr, a crowd- funding source for healthcare companies, grew out of the Health 2.0 NYC meetup group and launched as a partnership between founder Alex Fair and former KickStarter Co-founder Mike Pence. MedStartr relaunched in July 2016 as a healthcare crowd engagement platform designed to facilitate and automate services for healthcare innovators to bring their products to market more quickly and sustainably. New York Digital Health Accelerator. e New York eHealth Collaborative and the Partner- ship Fund of New York City runs the New York Digital Health Accelerator for early- and growth- stage digital health companies. e accelerator focuses on companies developing technology products in care coordination, patient engage- ment and workflow improvement. Participating companies receive feedback from senior level executives at healthcare organizations and men- torship from healthcare investors. Rock Health (San Francisco). Rock Health is a nonprofit seed fund for entrepreneurs fo- cused on health and wellness through web and mobile technologies. e seed fund supports companies with fundraising, go-to-market planning, customer development, contracting, pricing, marketing and public relations. Rock Health has partnerships with companies such as AARP, Blue Shield of California and Boston Children's Hospital to provide portfolio compa- nies with strategic insights and resources. StartUp Health (New York). StartUp Health launched in 2011 at Health Datapaloo- za in Washington, D.C., with the mission of investing in thousands of healthcare entre- preneurs. e company focuses on mindset and value creation with weekly and quarterly coaching and its StartUp Health Academy con- nects entrepreneurs with a global peer net- work. Notable strategic partners include AON, Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee and Cleve- land Clinic. StartX Med (Palo Alto, Calif.). StartX Med is Stanford University's technology accelerator designed to work with medical and biotech startups. StartX provides mentors in the Silicon Valley as well as guidance through calls, lectures and informal meetings. Program alumni have had their companies acquired by Twitter, Drop- box and Apple, raising funds from firms like Benchmark Capital and Google Ventures. Techstars Healthcare Accelerator (Los Angeles). Techstars partners with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to support physi- cians and researchers focused on advanced tech- nology that will improve patient care. e partici- pants receive a $120,000 investment and mentors from Cedars-Sinai. e participants also have access to Techstars' network of entrepreneurs, in- vestors and corporate partners. n IBM Watson Rolls Out Internet of Things Consulting Platform By Jessica Kim Cohen I BM has unveiled a new consulting platform to provide businesses across the globe with guidance on industry-specific Internet of Things adoption challeng- es. The platform, called IBM Watson IoT Consulting Solutions, allows clients to apply Watson cognitive computing to a range of business capabilities, which can help businesses gain insight and facilitate decision making processes. Watson uses ma- chine learning and natural language processing so that clients can leverage the AI technology on unstructured data entries, such as videos and sounds. IBM Watson IoT Consulting Solutions employs 1,500 consultants, data scientists and security experts across nine IBM Internet of Things centers in Asia, Europe and the Americas. IBM said since the platform integrates cognitive, analytics, mobile security and cloud capabilities, clients will be able to use a range of services on one platform, thereby avoiding the cybersecurity risks that arise when working with multiple vendors. n