The last catastrophic pandemic the world has seen was the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic, considering that it happened 102 years ago, one can perhaps leverage the technologic advancements over the past century to combat the current pandemic of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (COVID-19), which has already infected more than 16 million people globally and shut down the majority of the daily activities of life. The danger and challenge of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 lies in their highly contagious nature, spreading like wildfire with the potential to infect the majority of the world’s population unless drastic measures are undertaken. In some countries, the social distancing and quarantine measures are either insufficient or ineffective as the number of cases is still on the rise. A major issue causing this rise is that most COVID-19 carriers appear asymptomatic. Identifying infected individuals as well as healthy/immune ones is the most crucial step in halting the disease spread. This is where the role of mass screening comes in.

The competition invited entries focusing on the following areas:

• Reducing health systems and patient out-of-pocket costs
• Designing for the level of a patient’s mobility
• Educating patients on new technology, use, application, and outcomes
• Enhanced standard of care for care-giving, remote care, elderly care, and urban care  

Applicants were asked to demonstrate how products and services directly impact the telehealth and blockchain health technology sectors. Products/services had to be GDPR and/or HIPAA compliant. Contestants submitted detailed applications from which judges selected eight (8) finalists for a 5 minute lightning round pitch conducted at ConV2X.   

The Finalists, in alpha order, by company are:

1. AmericanTelephysicians (ATP)
2. BitMED_io
3. Cohealth
4. Debut mHealth's Debut Protocol
5. Digipharm's Reimburse
6. Happify
7. Health Innovation's WillChain
8. Knowmadics  

We congratulate the 2nd Annual Innovation Ignition Competition Winners:

1st Place: Happify Health
2nd Place: BitMEd

Honorable Mention: WillChain 

Judges used six criterion to select winners:  (1) identification of medical problem, (2) technical solution, (3) relevance to healthcare sector and technology, (4) ability to monetize, (5) caliber and expertise of team, and (6) overall impression. 

Judges:

Bryan Arkwright Managing Consultant / Professor, Schumacher Clinical Partners / Wake Forest University School of Law

Fennie Wang COO and Chief of Regulatory, OpenWater Capital

Anton Decker President, Health Innovation, Bon Secours Mercy Health

Gary German Founder, and CEO, Nonnatech

Gil Alterovitz, PhD Faculty, Harvard Medical School/Boston Children's Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Medical School

John D. Halamka, MD, MS John D. Halamka, MD, MS, CIO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Chairman, New England Healthcare Exchange Network (NEHEN), Co-Chair, HIT Standards Committee, Professor, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess System

Karim Babay CEO & Chief Investment Officer, Intrinsic Value Investment Partners