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CancerX announced the launch of its 2025 Accelerator cohort, which will concentrate on transforming digital innovation and AI offerings in cancer care, and a partnership with KidsX, a community of pediatric hospitals, to create unique opportunities for startups in pediatric oncology. The aim of the KidsX collaboration is to emphasize a shared commitment to improving outcomes for children with cancer and provide a platform for startups to significantly affect this vital area. Two of the 15 available spots in the 2025 cohort will be reserved for companies developing innovative solutions in pediatric oncology, and receive support from CancerX and KidsX. Cohort members had access to diverse resources through partnerships with 10 Champion companies, including Moffitt Cancer Center, Advocate Health Care, MassChallenge and Oncology Ventures. During the inaugural cohort, the champions provided startups with opportunities for investment warrants, pilot programs with health systems, access to oncology subject matter experts for product enhancement and entry to one of the largest mentor networks in digital health and oncology. The 2025 Accelerator program expands on the accomplishments of the inaugural cohort. "We are excited to bring the power of the KidsX network to our accelerator this year," Xavier Avat, chief business officer and executive vice president at Moffitt Cancer Center and executive sponsor of CancerX, told MobiHealthNews in an email. "We have reserved two slots for companies focused on pediatric oncology, where KidsX will bring its network of 30 hospitals to accelerate these companies via mentorship, pilots and potentially even commercial relationships, in addition to receiving champion support from CancerX as well." THE LARGER TREND In 2023, Carrum Health, a digital marketplace that allows employers to purchase bundled healthcare services, joined the White House-led Cancer Moonshot CancerX initiative, which brought together cross-disciplinary stakeholders to drive innovation in cancer care. That same year, the Department of Health and Human Services launched CancerX, a public-private partnership designed to enhance cancer innovation in the U.S. As vice president, Joe Biden launched the Cancer Moonshot, aiming to accelerate progress in cancer treatments and accessibility. As president, Biden revived the Moonshot in 2022. In 2023, as part of the Moonshot, the Department of Health and Human Services launched CancerX, a public-private partnership designed to boost cancer innovation in the U.S. In 2022, Dana Le, founding accelerator lead at KidsX, commented that her accelerator's analysis showed funding for pediatric-focused software grew considerably the previous year; however, it was still a fairly small portion of overall digital health funding. In 2020, KidsX Accelerator program launched with the goal of deploying more digital health technologies in pediatric hospitals across the country. The aim of the program was to bring together 26 pediatric hospitals to partner with early-stage digital health companies and build digital products that address the unique requirements of pediatric patients and their families.

Digital transformation continues to play out across various corners of the healthcare world, and the cardiovascular space is no different. Heart disease remains one of the deadliest and costliest health threats facing Americans — in the U.S., someone loses their life to cardiovascular disease every 33 seconds with an annual cost to the nation exceeding $250 billion. Many new tech solutions — including wearables, algorithms and tools for 3D bioprinting — have emerged in recent years to address the country’s heart disease problem. While it’s easy to get excited about technology’s potential to improve cardiac care, there are a few things that healthcare leaders must keep in mind, said Dr. Sumeet Chugh during an interview this month at the Heart Rhythm Society’s recent HRX conference in Atlanta. Dr. Chugh is director of the Heart Institute and director of AI in medicine at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Sponsored Post What Healthcare Can Learn from Costco The path forward is clear: employers must evaluate their health plan the same way they do their Saturday shopping excursion. By Jeff Bak, Imagine360 CEO and President Data management When a company releases a new solution like a wearable, it should have two goals, Dr. Chugh noted. The first is to create a product that collects useful data for clinicians, and the second is to manage that data. Wearables usually collect patients’ data continuously as they go about their daily lives, and no clinician has the bandwidth to independently sort through such a vast amount of collected data, he remarked. “These companies are trying to do both. They’re trying to record the data and manage the data — so that they can spit out a summary of the findings and enable [clinicians] to use it at the point of care. Maybe not every company is trying to do that, but I think the ones that make more sense to me have both functions enabled,” Dr. Chugh explained. Sponsored Post Get Ready for HLTH 2024: A Preview Guide HLTH 2024, scheduled for October 20-23 at the Venetian Expo Center in Las Vegas, will highlight new programming, a physicians roundtable, generative AI, the shifting landscapes of telemedicine, retail health, women's health, and lots more. By Stephanie Baum Costs New technologies are often quite expensive, Dr. Chugh pointed out. “At this point, they’re not lowering healthcare costs for the system if you buy them,” he declared. Vendors often will tell providers that their tools will lead to cost savings in the long term, either by decreasing patients’ healthcare utilization or by doing tasks that humans were previously paid to do, Dr. Chugh noted. That argument may be true, but most hospitals think about their finances on a quarter-by-quarter basis rather than considering the long-term picture, he said. Equity Technology developers in the healthcare space must take care to ensure the patient is at the center of their product, Dr. Chugh pointed out. “When you develop these technologies and you make them really expensive, there’s so much inequity. That’s where a lot of distrust comes in. We may need some kind of honest broker at a national level, and that better be the government,” he declared. There is no denying that Americans’ health varies significantly across various ethnic and social demographics — tech developers need to make sure that their tools aren’t furthering these inequities, Dr. Chugh noted.

CINCINNATI, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As America grapples with a crisis in child mental health, Cincinnati Children's is pleased to announce that a top authority in pediatric healthcare and policy will become the first leader to direct the combined activities of the nation's largest provider of pediatric inpatient mental and behavioral health services. Continue Reading Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH, currently vice president of research at the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), will become the inaugural director of the new Cincinnati Children's Mental and Behavioral Health Institute (MBHI), effective Feb. 24, 2025. "Dr. Leslie's extensive pediatric leadership and proven experience in pediatric mental, behavioral and developmental health makes her the ideal choice to direct our Mental and Behavioral Health Institute," says Tina Cheng, MD, MPH, director of the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, and chief medical officer of the health system. "Her expertise and passion for improving pediatric mental healthcare will help us advance our aspirations as the leader in improving child health." What is the Mental and Behavioral Health Institute? Cincinnati Children's has been at the forefront of pediatric mental, behavioral and developmental healthcare and research for more than two decades. The new institute was announced in October 2023 at Cincinnati Children's annual Kaleidoscope fundraising event, which benefited the health system's mental and behavioral health services. The new institute integrates the divisions of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. This innovative structure allows for deeper collaboration among experts across specialty fields and among a network of community partners that will serve as a national model system for improving outcomes for children affected by mental, developmental, and behavioral challenges. The institute was launched with a generous $15 million lead gift from The James J. and Joan A. Gardner Family Foundation and has inspired additional giving to further expand access, research, community partnerships, and school services. Cincinnati Children's has three other major institutes that combine multiple divisions and reflect world-class leadership in care and research: the Perinatal Institute, the Heart Institute and the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute. Who is Dr. Leslie? Leslie has held professorships at Tufts University School of Medicine since 2006, where she has focused on clinical, research and policy work to better integrate mental and behavioral care with clinical care for children in settings ranging from outpatient clinics and schools to child welfare and protective services. In addition to joining the American Board of Pediatrics in a leadership role in 2015, Leslie has co-chaired two National Academy of Medicine meetings focusing on healthcare workforce training and developing integrated care models for children's behavioral health. Leslie is board certified in general pediatrics and developmental-behavioral pediatrics. She holds degrees from Harvard University, UNC Chapel Hill and San Diego State University and completed residency and fellowship trainings at the University of California, San Francisco. "The mental health crisis among children, adolescents and young adults is the most critical pediatric public health emergency of our time," Leslie says. "I am honored to have the opportunity to work at Cincinnati Children's where the leadership, faculty and staff are committed to addressing this crisis in every setting from schools and primary care offices through inpatient care." ABP President and CEO Michael Barone, MD, MPH, congratulated Leslie as she takes on a new role. "While her departure will certainly be felt across our organization, this is a wonderful next step for Laurel as she follows her passion for improving the mental and behavioral health outcomes for children," Barone says. "Cincinnati Children's will greatly benefit from her leadership and vision in this important area. We wish her well in this very exciting next chapter." Moving forward With generous support from the Convalescent Hospital Fund for Children and other donors, Cincinnati Children's recently invested $108 million to renovate and expand its mental health care facilities at its College Hill campus. Experts here also have overhauled how children with mental and behavioral needs move through the health system, from emergency care to outpatient services. Under Leslie's leadership, the institute will prioritize: Reducing mental health-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations by strengthening outpatient care and early interventions. Improving mental health services in community settings such as schools and primary care clinics, embedding mental health providers in these environments to increase accessibility. Collaborating with families, educators and policymakers to ensure children's mental, behavioral and developmental health services are integrated with other healthcare needs. Investing in research and innovation to build early detection systems, digital health interventions, and collaborative models of care that empower families to take an active role in their children's mental health journey. "The creation and growth of the Mental and Behavioral Health Institute would not be possible without the support of families, healthcare professionals, community organizations, local schools and philanthropic partners, as we all work together to tackle the mental health crisis affecting youth here in our region and as a model for others," Cheng says. "Dr. Leslie and our entire MBHI team will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that every child receives the support and care they need to live their best possible life." About Cincinnati Children's Cincinnati Children's is a nonprofit, comprehensive pediatric health system that is internationally recognized for improving child health and transforming delivery of care. As a leader in research, education, patient care, advocacy and innovation, Cincinnati Children's is ranked #1 in U.S. News & World Report's 2023-2024 list of best children's hospitals in the nation and is the #2 recipient of pediatric research grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. SOURCE Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED