Innovations in pain management and mental health will be the first technologies tested in the newly opened Smart Health Innovation Lab.
Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health is partners with Aspire Ventures, Capital BlueCross and Clio Health on the lab, located in downtown Lancaster.
The Smart Health Innovation Lab aims to fast-track the development of game-changing health-care technologies. A June 7 reception officially opened the lab and introduced its first two resident companies, Emovi and NeuroFlow.
LG Health President & CEO Jan Bergen called the state-of-the-art lab “an advanced setting unlike anything available in the region.” LG Health’s unique collaboration with its Smart Health partners promotes innovations that achieve the “quadruple aim” of improved outcomes, enhanced patient and provider experience, and reduced costs, she said.
“While Lancaster General Health has been an early adopter of technology to improve the consistency and reliability of our care, we recognized the importance of bringing together partners that could accelerate our efforts,” Bergen said at the event.
“Our innovation lab will enable access to the latest technologies and innovative clinical approaches for our clinical providers and health system, while exceeding the quadruple aim.”
Smart Health Innovation Lab will advance the innovation process by helping overcome common challenges faced by developers of new technologies. The lab has attracted interest from health-care technology startups from across the United States and abroad.
Emovi and NeuroFlow were selected from more than 30 finalists.
- Emovi, of Montreal, Quebec, has created KneeKG, a breakthrough knee assessment system that enables reliable measurements and personalized treatment plans with a 15-minute test that is less costly than X-rays and MRIs.
- NeuroFlow, a Philadelphia mental health technology company founded by a U.S. military veteran, optimizes mental wellness and enhances patient engagement between clinical sessions with a data-driven approach to brain health.
Emovi and NeuroFlow will work onsite in the 16,000-square-foot lab to demonstrate the effectiveness of their technologies, all while receiving expert feedback. The lab’s simulated care environments include a hospital room, physical therapy gym, clinician’s office and home setting.
Following successful completion of a 12- week program, innovations will receive Smart Health Certification, entry into partnering health systems and a path to payer reimbursement.
A patient in the Smart Health Innovation Lab tests Emovi’s product KneeKG.
“Technology startups often face challenges with integrating new and imaginative products into clinical workflows,” said Michael R. Ripchinski, MD, LG Health Physician Executive for Quality. “Smart Health Innovation Lab’s certification process will ensure that these innovations work well for the health care team and drive exceptional value and quality outcomes for the patient.”