Parkview Health and MATTER announce Healthy Mom and Baby 3.0 Innovation Competition finalists

August 18, 2022, CHICAGO — Parkview Health and MATTER have announced four finalists for the 2022 Healthy Mom and Baby 3.0 Innovation Competition. As a result of the semifinalist pitch competition on August 10, 2022, Walela, a Chicago-based health tech company, won the grand prize of $10,000 and will move forward to the accelerator phase of the competition, along with three other medical device startups.

Launched in May 2022, the competition challenged innovators to submit innovative solutions to help improve access to care and management of chronic conditions for mothers, infants and children. Eight semifinalists were selected to participate in the pitch competition that took place on August 10, 2022, at the Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The global audience voted pHetalsafe as the audience choice winner for best pitch.

Ultimately, the panel of distinguished judges awarded Walela the grand prize of $10,000 and a one-year MATTER membership. Walela will advance to the accelerator phase of the competition along with finalists Loquet, Neurobell and Rockfield Medical Devices.

The four finalists will participate in a two-month virtual accelerator where they will continue to build and test their solutions with leaders from Parkview Health, MATTER and Management Performance Hub. On November 10, 2022, the finalists will pitch their solutions to a community of healthcare professionals, Parkview leaders and outside investors for potential pilot and funding opportunities. All teams who participate in the final pitch day will receive a six-month global membership at MATTER.

Meet the Healthy Mom and Baby 3.0 Innovation Competition finalists:

Walela — Chicago, Illinois
Walela is building technology to make childbirth safer. The fetal sensor Walela has created provides objective data about the health of the baby throughout labor, so that doctors can decide when and if a C-section is necessary with complete confidence, and less liability.

Loquet — Fort Wayne, Indiana
Emma Parsley is a 2022 Cedarville University graduate who majored in industrial and innovative design. Her passion for helping underserved mothers branches from experience fostering babies of families in need. Thousands of infants lose their lives because of latching difficulties and the resulting loss of vital breastfeeding benefits. Emma believes strongly that with the help of Parkview Health, her innovative breastfeeding device will help save these babies.

Neurobell — Ballincollig, Ireland
Neurobell is an Enterprise Ireland-funded commercialization project and team from the INFANT Research Centre at University College Cork in Ireland. Neurobell is developing a novel medical device for early detection and monitoring of seizures in newborns. Their pocket-sized and wireless EEG monitor provides bedside staff with easy-to-use EEG and automated alerts for seizures in real time.

Rockfield Medical Devices — Galway, Ireland
Rockfield Medical Devices is a developer of innovative medical devices that will transform the mobility and quality of life of the enteral (tube) feeding community. Their new mobile tube feeding system, Mobility+®, will help parents and caregivers, young children and teens live more independently by freeing them from the existing heavy and complex systems offered today. Mobility+ is an extremely light, quiet and mobile tube feeding system that does not require electricity or gravity and allows users to move about freely while feeding discreetly, dramatically improving physical and social lives for both people with feeding tubes and parents and caregivers.

About Parkview Health

Parkview Health is a not-for-profit, community-based health system serving a northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio population of more than 895,000. Parkview Health’s mission is to improve health and inspire well-being in the communities it serves. With more than 14,000 employees, Parkview is the region’s largest employer.

Parkview Health includes 10 hospitals and an extensive network of primary care and specialty care physicians. Parkview has been designated a Magnet® health system for nursing excellence.

About MATTER

At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 700 current and alumni startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.