MiraHeart Takes 3rd Place at University of Arkansas Heartland Challenge
Current CBID team MiraHeart, takes third place at the University of Arkansas Heartland Challenge Startup Competition, winning $10,000. Team MiraHeart was represented by Sam Dasari and Carter Gaulke. Out of the 12 semifinalists, MiraHeart advanced to the final round and got 3rd place.
MiraHeart is a company passionate about improving the lives of the vulnerable children with heart defects who are at risk of developing congestive heart failure (CHF). Every year in the United States, 35,000 children are affected by CHF, a disease with a 6.3% mortality rate. The pediatric cardiomyopathy population is particularly prone to developing CHF, as nearly 60% of diagnosed patients receive CHF treatments within their first month. Nearly 50% of those diagnosed with CHF are hospitalized, and for those with cardiomyopathy, an 11% in-hospital mortality rate is present. With hospitalizations costing $70,000 per patient, CHF costs $1B annually in inpatient costs. CHF occurs when the heart fails to meet the circulatory demands of the body, leading to an increase in intravascular fluid pressure, known as central venous pressure (CVP). CVP is critical to adjusting CHF medications; however, it can only be read in hospital settings, leaving no monitoring options at home. Therefore, families are left with no objective way to track their child’s CHF progression. This allows CHF to progress to a stage where hospitalization and more intensive treatments are necessary, resulting in higher treatment costs and more pain for this child.
MiraHeart addresses this gap in care. Our wearable, non-invasive device provides objective metrics of CHF by reading the child’s CVP and transmits this directly to physicians. MiraHeart consists of a small, optical sensor array and software system harbored in a neck band worn by a child twice daily, for 5 minutes each. MiraHeart is prescribed by the patient’s cardiologist and utilized by the child’s caretaker. MiraHeart facilitates proper decision-making on CHF medications, transforming care with little shift in the day-to-day workflow of clinicians and families. Our team submitted porcine and pediatric human protocols, hoping to further validate the accuracy of our device in April 2023 upon approval.
The Heartland Challenge is designed to simulate the process of raising venture capital for a high-growth venture. The competition allows students to gain valuable experience and networking opportunities, while developing new ventures that may be based on their own ideas/technologies or those developed by others.
To watch MiraHeart’s Pitch, click here..
Read more on MiraHeart:
MiraHeart Advances in 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition
MiraHeart wins overall 3rd place at University of Arkansas Heartland Challenge
MiraHeart presenting in Final Round
MiraHeart presenting at expo
MiraHeart presenting financials at Final Round
