MedTech Innovator, the largest accelerator of medical devices in the world, today announced Rhaeos as the winner of its 2020 Global Competition. The winning company was determined by a virtual live audience vote on October 6 during The Virtual MedTech Conference, powered by AdvaMed.
 
Rhaeos, a medical technology startup based in Evanston, Illinois, is developing a wearable for the noninvasive monitoring of ventricular shunt function for hydrocephalus patients.
 
“Participating in the MedTech Innovator Accelerator program has provided our team with invaluable mentorship and support from industry leaders that we are incredibly thankful for,” said Anna Lisa Somera, CEO of Rhaeos. “We are honored to be recognized by the medtech community as this year’s MedTech Innovator winner and we look forward to taking our next steps as a company to bring our solution to the patients who need it.”
 
Beating out over 1,000 other startups and emerging-growth medical technology companies, Rhaeos is the recipient of the $350,000 grand prize which will be used to advance its business goals and objectives. The company has also been awarded a one-year AdvaMed Accel membership and will be profiled in the MedTech Strategist. Cellvie, Circadia Health, Lief Therapeutics, and Moray Medical were runners-up and received a prize of $25,000 as finalists selected from this year’s MedTech Innovator Accelerator program.
 
“This has been an unprecedented year for MedTech Innovator—both in format and in the quality of companies that participated in our program. We had the pleasure of working with incredibly adaptable teams with ground-breaking innovations, and our strong ecosystem of industry partners stepped up to the plate to virtually support and mentor these companies in a really impressive way,” said Paul Grand, CEO of MedTech Innovator. “We are excited to recognize Rhaeos for its important work and we look forward following the company’s continued progress as they strive towards improving the way patients with hydrocephalus are treated.”
 
Rhaeos participated in the MedTech Innovator 2020 Accelerator program, which provides emerging-growth companies with in-depth, customized mentorship from key leaders in the medtech industry, exclusive virtual networking opportunities and workshops, and pitch sessions with investors, manufacturers, providers, and customers.
 
Currently in its eighth year, the MedTech Innovator competition awarded over $500K in cash prizes and in-kind awards. Participating companies gained increasing amounts of exposure to industry leaders through online application reviews, online pitch sessions, and virtual competitions.
 
Judges of the 2020 final competition included: Stephen Ralph, innovation marketing leader, Medical Products Division, W. L. Gore & Associates; Alp Akonur, director, Renal Innovation, Baxter Healthcare Corporation; Tonja Curtis-Danowski, vice president, Business Development, Johnson & Johnson; Tomoko Ishikura, business development advisor, Nipro Corporation; Christos Monovoukas, vice president and Global M&A Leader, Business Development, Olympus.
 
“We are consistently impressed by the caliber of the companies participating in MedTech Innovator’s annual program that continue to bring truly innovative approaches and a deep commitment to improving patient lives,” said Susan Morano, vice president, Business Development for Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies. “Congratulations to Rhaeos on this well-deserved recognition and to all the finalists who made it this far.”
 
MedTech Innovator also announced winners of the incubator space awards. Rhaeos and Parker Isaac Instruments each received the JLABS Award, valued at $25,000. Lief Therapeutics was voted the winner of the $10,000 Best Video Award for their one-minute pitch video. The $25,000 Value Award Competition will take place at the MedTech Strategist Virtual Summit on November 18.