With half or more of all diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea patients who need continuous positive airway pressure machines unwilling or unable to use these devices, there’s a large unmet need for an alternative treatment. Startups are rising to the challenge with neuromodulation platforms, a mouthguard-like suction device, a nasal device with microblowers, and a vibrating device that nudges patients to turn on their sides.

Most current cardiac diagnostic imaging tests are highly inexact, relying heavily on clinicians' observations. HeartFlow is adapting advanced computer modeling to cardiology to produce a precise, predictive, noninvasive diagnostic that doubles as a treatment planning tool. The test could eliminate unnecessary procedures for patients and save the system money, but is that what interventionalists want?

Tremendous progress has been made in the field of ablation therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF) over the past several years, and numerous device-based technologies to address this underserved and rapidly growing patient population are under clinical development. Minimally invasive, percutaneous AF ablation has evolved rapidly as well, although the procedure remains very challenging and limited to highly experienced centers.

Hoping to succeed in the elusive field of atrial fibrillation, Endosense is taking an anti-start-up strategy: focusing more on later-stage commercialization and market launch and less on technology vetting.