Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/610185
t m c » p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 14 14 Startups with Vision Three superstar startups at TMCx+ are pushing the boundaries of possibility in life sciences W ithin the offices of TMCx+, the Texas Medical Center's coworking space designed to meet the needs of emerging companies, the plausible and the implausible are being brought together. An analytics company builds predictive algorithms to help clini- cians improve patient outcomes; a team of neuro- scientists and designers craft a vest that allows deaf individuals to perceive auditory information through small vibrations on their torso; and a biotechnology company develops virus-driven immunotherapies for cancer. For these driven entrepreneurs, this is just the beginning. "We're at a juncture in technology development where science is catching up with science fiction," said Emma Fauss, Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer of Medical Informatics. "That's something that we can take for granted in our daily lives, like using a GPS for making turn-by-turn directions. What we're trying to do is get health care up to speed with the rest of the world. The reality is that every other industry uses data technology effectively, and health care doesn't, but health care is the one thing that really matters—it's lives at stake." From the ICU to the ER, critical care nurses and doctors are required to make crucial, life-altering decisions in the blink of an eye. For health care providers in a stressful environment, singling out high-priority alarms from an ever-present cacophony of patient monitoring devices can seem frustrating and futile. With all that information to sift through, what's important and what isn't? "There's a severe void in supporting technologies to help providers make those split-second decisions," Fauss said. "In cases where those time-critical deci- sions need to be made, we're trying to empower care providers by leveraging serious, real-time analytics." B y A l e x O r l a n d o When we talk about approach- ing science fiction, that's really what it is. We're pushing the edges of what is possible in individual- ized patient care. — EMMA FAUSS, PH.D. Chief Executive Officer of Medical Informatics Through their digital platform, Sickbay, Medical Informatics brings patient-specific analytics to a clinician's fingertips.