Trending Now: Digital Health Summer Summit, San Francisco

CEA, the Consumer Electronics Association, produces the Digital Health Summer Summit – 2014 marks its 3rd year.  It is one of 11 such events under their banner of “Living in Digital Times” (other events of theirs are focused on verticals such as sports, fashion and education).  This Summit represents a blend of established giants like IBM and Nike alongside fresh-faced startups such as Misfit and Whill.

I attended the Digital Health Summer Summit in San Francisco last week; here are some hot trends that jumped out as I listened to the various speakers and company representatives –
Partnerships:
o    Long-established companies are seeking to leverage their heft while staying current in the marketplace; nimble startups have technical innovations and solutions that dazzle but often lack the ability to scale it effectively without outside support.  Voila!  Matches made in health heaven.

The Quantified Self:
o    This is not a shiny new term anymore but it is certainly being bantered around quite a bit everywhere we go – the Summit was no exception.  We’re swimming in self-related data…I’d love to know who will solve the riddle of the Optimized Self, so that we can make that data truly actionable for ourselves?

“Blue Ocean” Innovation:
o    The reference is from the book Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne; the concept of “Blue Ocean” means to create a whole new market for something, versus competing in crowded market spaces (like numerous sharks fighting over prey – that would be a red ocean).  One such example at the Summit was ClearEar’s Ototip, the earwax remover that is technically a substitute for the lowly Qtip™, but has actually defined a new market niche, aimed at a huge aging population, to whom hearing quality is becoming more important than ever before.

“Apple Aesthetics” Matter:
o    Unlike the medical devices that have gone before, the products I saw at the Summit were as cool to look at as they were function-wise.  A standout was Whill, a new wheelchair that looks as slick and futuristic as it acts (e.g. it will come to you when you summon it through an iPhone interface).  Another was Misfit’s Shine product, a competitor to FitBit and others, looked more like hip jewelry than a data collection device.

It used to be that healthcare was “late to the party” when it came to digital innovation, but not anymore.  I asked one of the young entrepreneurs for his one-word assessment of the event, the speakers and their content, and he said “Inspiring” – ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived.

Hilary Weber Founder and CEO, Opportu Startup Leadership opportu.com