MedTech Innovator has awarded its $350,000 global startup competition grand prize to Alva Health, the developer of a wearable, real-time stroke monitor.

Alva Health’s stroke monitor [Photo courtesy of Alva Health]

The New Haven, Connecticut-based startup won the medical device accelerator competition after a Wednesday vote by attendees of The MedTech Conference, organized by AdvaMed.

“Alva Health’s mission is to develop, commercialize and make accessible a first-in-class medical device that accurately detects strokes using patient-worn wearables,” Alva Health co-founder and CEO Sandra Saldana said in a news release. “This award represents a recognition of the tremendous clinical unmet need for patients, and an important milestone in Alva Health’s journey. We are grateful to the MedTech Innovator community for their support and for the opportunity to receive mentorship from top leaders in the medical device industry, as we work toward fulfilling our mission to deliver this much-needed technology to the millions of people who are at high risk for stroke.”

MedTech Innovator received more than 1,100 applications. Four other finalists — BioDevek, Caretaker Medical, Cooler Heads Care and Nutromics — each received a $25,000 prize.

The MedTech Innovator accelerator program provides early-stage companies with industry mentorship, virtual networking and workshops, and pitch sessions with investors, manufacturers, providers and customers.

“Each year, we are on a mission to find the most promising startups from around the globe and connect them with the right stakeholders with the goal of reaching patients and improving lives,” MedTech Innovator Founding CEO Paul Grand said in the news release. “I can say with full confidence that not only Alva Health, but all of this year’s finalist companies are on track to bring life-changing health solutions into the hands of clinicians and their patients.”

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