San Antonio doesn’t get enough credit for being a distinguished hub of medical care, research and technology outside of the city’s medical community. It’s no wonder to those in the know why the Palm Beach, Florida-based Genetics Policy Institute chose the Alamo City as the location for their 2014 World Stem Cell Summit in December. The three-day summit conference brought over 1,000 researchers, physicians and investors from 40 different countries, putting San Antonio’s prominent bioscience repertoire in the global spotlight.
After learning about some of the city’s groundbreaking research and progressive development in area hospitals, residents can rest assured that they are in beyond capable hands. The following 4 companies are good examples of healthcare innovators in San Antonio.
Xenex Disinfection Services
Do you think your doctor sings the happy birthday song while washing his/her hands to ensure they’ve washed long enough to kill the germs? Didn’t think so, but maybe they should. It is becoming increasingly more difficult for hospital administrators to get physicians to wash their hands consistently and effectively. Xenex Disinfection Services based in San Antonio has developed a UV technology that will hopefully alleviate this conundrum. It goes by the name of PX-UV and is controlled by robotic devices eliminating pathogens that cause hospital acquired infections (HAI). A 2014 study showed a 20% decrease in HAI rates after using.
Invictus Medical
Named one of the top 10 startups in San Antonio, Invictus Medical has designed a device to alleviate extra cranial pressure for newborn babies called GELShield. The pressure often occurs in premature newborns and is prone to cause cranial deformity known as deformational plagiocephaly, leading to delays in development. This five-person company recently raised $3.8 million in funding for clinical testing of the devise and is aiming to launch the product at the end of this year. The small company hopes to hire at least 20 more people by then.
BioBridge Global and South Texas Blood & Tissue Center
BioBridge Global (BBG) and South Texas Blood & Tissue Center (STBTC) in San Antonio has been an integral part of the groundbreaking research being conducted to fight Ebola. Dallas Ebola survivor, Amber Vinson became infected with the virus as a nurse treating a patient late last year. Now recovered, STBTC drew blood samples from Vinson in an effort to save the lives of future patients affected by Ebola. BBG’s medical director, Dr. Beddard explained, “What makes this research unique is Vinson is the first to donate whole blood for research. Her blood has the antibody for Ebola and has the potential to be manufactured on a large scale and possibly help treat many more people.”
The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio
The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio is not the first to implement a cloud-based patient encounter platform in this city, but it has joined the pioneering few that have. In January, they announced that they had signed with the premier patient encounter platform, Ingenious Med. This web and mobile platform allows for HIPAA compliant communication between the doctor and patient, cloud-based care plan sharing, and a more efficient workflow. Needless to say, don’t be surprised if you see your nurses and doctors inputting all of your information into an iPad instead of a clipboard at your next checkup; this is the future.
