Top 5 Houston health tech stories of 2019

2019 in review

Houston, home to the largest medical center in the world, had a lot of trending health tech stories this year. Photo by Dwight C. Andrews/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Editor's note: As 2019 comes to a close, InnovationMap is looking back at the year's top stories in Houston innovation. Within the health category, top stories included new details from the Texas Medical Center's ongoing TMC3 project, health tech and medical device startups in Houston, and more.

Texas Medical Center reveals new details and renderings for its TMC3 campus

The design and construction team has been announced for TMC3. Courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects

The Texas Medical Center just announced the dream team of architects and designers that are making TMC3 into a reality.

Elkus Manfredi Architects, Transwestern, and Vaughn Construction are the three companies that will serve as the architectural and development team for the 37-acre research campus. TMC3's founding institutions — TMC, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center — decided on the three entities.

"Texas Medical Center is eager to move forward with a bold, imaginative and dynamic new design vision for the TMC3 Master Plan," says TMC CEO and president, Bill McKeon, in a press release. "With the combined talents of Elkus Manfredi Architects, Transwestern, and Vaughn Construction on-board, I couldn't be more confident that this dream team will flawlessly execute the totality of the project's vision and fulfill its mission to bring together leading researchers and top-tiered expertise from the private sector to create the number one biotechnology and bioscience innovation center in the entire world."

TMC3 was first announced just over a year ago and is planned to open in 2022. The campus will incorporate research facilities, retail space, residential plans, a hotel and conference center, and green space. Parking will be underground to optimize surface area. To continue reading this top story, click here.

5 Houston medical device companies changing the industry

As medicine and technology both advance, these Houston startups are at the forefront of the industry. Getty Images

With the Texas Medical Center at the heart of Houston, health advancement opportunities are endless. Medical breakthroughs are happening across town, but as technology advances, the industry is seeing more and more startups popping up to take new tech tools and applying them to traditional medical devices and procedures.

These five Houston startups are developing the future of the industry — one device at a time. To continue reading this top story, click here.

Houston medical device company gains FDA approval

Houston-based Saranas has received de novo distinction from the FDA for its bleed monitoring technology. Courtesy of Saranas

When it comes to early bleeding detection, Houston-based Saranas, which closed $2.8 million in funding last year, is ahead of the game with its Early Bird Bleed Monitoring System. The Food and Drug Administration has recognized the medical device company and granted it De Novo distinction.

"Gaining FDA approval for the Early Bird is a significant milestone for Saranas as it demonstrates our continued commitment to address an unmet need for real-time detection and monitoring of endovascular bleed complications," says Saranas president and CEO, Zaffer Syed in a release. "As the first and only device on the market for early bleed detection, we have the potential to significantly reduce bleeding complications and related healthcare costs, while improving clinical outcomes in patients undergoing endovascular procedures."

The Early Bird technology is designed to detect bleeding from vessel injury caused by a surgery, for instance. One in five patients experienced a bleed complication in over 17,000 large-bore transcatheter procedures, according to the release which cites the National Inpatient Sample Database. To continue reading this top story, click here.

5 Houston biotech companies taking health care to new levels

With the Texas Medical Center in their backyard, these Houston biotech companies are creating breakthrough technologies. Getty Images

Houston is the home of the largest medical center in the world, so it comes as no surprise that the Bayou City is also home to breakthrough technologies. Here are five Houston companies developing some of this biotech advancements. To continue reading this top story, click here.

TMCx announces its next medical device cohort with 5 startups hailing from Houston

The next TMCx cohort begins August 5. Courtesy of TMC

The Texas Medical Center's startup accelerator, TMCx, has added 19 companies from all around the world to join its medical device family.

The TMC Innovation Institute team narrowed down 140 applications to 40 for the second round of the process, which includes face-to-face interviews, according to a release. After those, 18 companies were selected to join the TMCx09 class, which focuses on medical devices. The last cohort, which specialized in digital health, concluded on June 6.

Out of the 18 companies, five are from Houston. Four other startups hail from other corners of the United States, while 10 international companies also made the cohort. The program commences on August 5, and will run for four months before concluding in a demo day event in November. To continue reading this top story, click here.

Houston-based Saranas' technology is now being premiered in the United States. Courtesy of Saranas

Houston medical device company launches is product in the U.S. and hires new exec

Early bird gets the worm

A Houston company is changing the game when it comes to early bleed detection, and now the company can provide its life-saving service to the United States.

Saranas Inc., which received FDA approval for its Early Bird Bleed Monitoring System in March, announced that it is launching its device in the US. at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics Conference next week in San Francisco. The device is designed to detect and track bleeding complications related to endovascular procedures. These medical procedures treat problems, such as aneurysms, that affect blood vessels.

"As the first and only early bleed detection system on the market, the Early Bird is ideally positioned to play a key role in making the rapidly expanding, minimally-invasive catheter-based procedures safer by providing physicians with bleed monitoring in real-time," says Saranas president and CEO, Zaffer Syed, in a news release. "With the launch of the Early Bird, physicians will now have a standard of care to monitor the bleed status of the patient during and post procedure, receive timely notifications of actual bleeds, and potentially reduce the severity of bleeding complications and resulting costs, while protecting clinical outcomes in patients undergoing endovascular procedures."

Around 20 percent of patience suffer a bleeding complication during endovascular procedures, like transcatheter aortic valve replacement, endovascular aneurysm repair, and percutaneous hemodynamic support, and, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, these complications result in higher mortality, longer hospital stays, and higher medical bills.

In other exciting news for the company, Saranas hired Tom Lucas as vice president of sales and marketing. He has 28 years of experience in medical sales, and he is tasked with business development, marketing, sales, and more for the company.

"Tom is a critical strategic hire for Saranas as we launch our first product in the U.S.," Syed says in the release. "His expertise will be invaluable as we expand distribution of the Early Bird into additional centers of excellence."

Saranas began its clinical trials last year after raising $2.8 million. The company revealed the results of those trials earlier this year, leading to the FDA approval.

"Our first-in-human study demonstrated that clinical concordance with Early Bird detection and CT scans (primary endpoint) was near perfect, and the early discovery of bleed onset and progression during the procedure occurred in 31 percent of cases with 69 percent occurring post procedure," says Saranas Chief Medical Officer Dr. Philippe Généreux in the release. "Compared to the current paradigm of waiting for symptoms, which could take hours to develop, the Early Bird allows physicians to detect bleeding in real-time and take the necessary actions quickly to protect the outcomes of the procedure and aid recovery for the patient."

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Axiom Space tops $525M in oversubscribed round, announces Swiss subsidiary

funding boost

Axiom Space tacked on an additional $175 million to a previously announced capital raise, bringing the oversubscribed round to a total of more than $525 million.

Axiom shared in February that it had secured $350 million in a financing round led by Type One Ventures and Qatar Investment Authority. In the latest release from the company, Axiom reports that Japan-based MUFG Bank Ltd. joined the round as a new investor, in addition to continued participation from existing backers.

The funding will go toward developing the company's commercial space station, known as Axiom Station, and the production of its Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) under its NASA spacesuit contract.

“Investor interest in this round outpaced what we set out to raise, which speaks to the moment we’re in,” Jonathan Cirtain, CEO and president of Axiom Space, said in the news release. “Our partners see what is possible in low-Earth orbit, and they see who is positioned to lead it.”

Axiom announced last month that it planned to open a Japanese subsidiary July 1. Earlier this week, it also shared plans to establish Axiom Space Switzerland, a wholly owned subsidiary based in Lucerne that is also expected to begin operations this summer.

The Switzerland subsidiary aims to establish Axiom's presence in Europe and help it partner with the European Space Agency and other space organizations and companies on the continent.

“Europe is a founding leader in the creation of the commercial space economy, and Switzerland is uniquely positioned to convene the government agencies, research institutions, and industrial entities that will shape its next decade,” Cirtain added in a separate release. “Axiom Space Switzerland facilitates the scaling of development and deployment of the infrastructure that will succeed the International Space Station.”

Texas cashes in among 10 best U.S. state economies in 2026 report

State Economics

A new study gauging the success or decline in economic performance in every state has revealed Texas' economy remains stable in 2026 after it dropped out of the top five to No. 8 last year.

Texas boasts the No. 8 best state economy in the U.S. this year, according to WalletHub's annual "Best & Worst State Economies" report. The personal finance website's analysts ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 relevant metrics to measure each state's economic activity and health status, and its "innovation potential."

Notably, Texas leads the nation for the most exports per capita in the U.S. in a five-way tie with Louisiana, Kentucky, North Dakota, and Indiana. Across the study's three main categories, Texas ranked highly for its economic activity (No. 7) and economic health (No. 11), and the state's "innovation potential" rank is the 24th best in the nation.

This is how WalletHub ranked Texas' economic performance, where No. 1 is considered the best and No. 25 is considered average:
  • No. 6 – Change in non-farm payrolls
  • No. 8 – Change in GDP
  • No. 8 – Startup activity
  • No. 11 – Annual median household income
  • No. 18 – Government surplus/deficit per capita
  • No. 21 – Percentage of jobs in high-tech industries
  • No. 30 – Unemployment rate
WalletHub previously ranked Texas one of the top three states to start a business in 2026, with Houston earning its own entrepreneurial acclaim in separate rankings of the best big cities for new businesses and for starting a career.

"U.S. economic growth depends heavily on the performance of individual states, and some contribute more than others," the report's author wrote. "For example, California, Texas, New York and Florida have economies so large that if they were countries, they would rank in the top 20 in the world."

The five states with the worst state economies in 2026 are Rhode Island (No. 47), Maine (No. 48), Louisana (No. 49), Kentucky (No. 50), and West Virginia (No. 51).

The top 10 best state economies for 2026 are:

  • No. 1 – Massachusetts
  • No. 2 – Washington
  • No. 3 – Utah
  • No. 4 – California
  • No. 5 – Delaware
  • No. 6 – North Carolina
  • No. 7 – New York
  • No. 8 – Texas
  • No. 9 – Colorado
  • No. 10 – Florida

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Houston lab explores how AI bots can help the elderly

AI for aging

The University of Houston’s Empathetic Lifespan AI & Robotics for Aging (ELARA) Lab is currently conducting research into how AI bots may be able to help the elderly live more social and independent lives through several ongoing initiatives.

The lab officially launched last month as part of the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture & Design under the leadership of Assistant Professor Chorong Park. Part of the lab’s mission is tackling ongoing problems with aging, such as dealing with disabilities and social isolation. Researchers’ current work is focused on designing a new AI companion bot specifically tailored to the needs of older people.

“We need to take all the needs of older adults seriously,” Park said in a news release. “They won't use the robot if they don't feel at ease or if they feel they are being constantly watched.”

The field testing of new AI bots in this population hopes to overcome several traditional obstacles in technology use among the elderly. A study by Park shows that many older people have a fear of overt surveillance when using advanced AI. There is also ageism to consider. Most new technologies are designed with younger and employed buyers in mind, not retirees who may need help remembering daily tasks or accessing important information.

“The more older adults are excluded from technology development, the worse those technology gaps will become,” Park said. “AI and the majority of technologies are created for younger people, so my research method integrates older adults directly into the design process.”

ELARA recently collaborated with the Mamie George Community Center in Richmond, Texas, to track seniors’ response to desktop AI bots like Emo and Cupboo. Researchers also had participants use air-dry modeling clay to create their ideal robotic companion.

While the eventual AI bot may be able to help the elderly feel less isolated and more supported, there are concerns to consider. A study published in the Asian Journal of Psychology charted the development of delusional thinking in a 72-year-old woman who became convinced the empathic-response bot was in love with her. The rise of “AI psychosis” has the potential to exacerbate mental health problems, particularly in socially isolated people, which a quarter of Americans over the age of 65 are.

ELARA’s research is focused on creating “pet-like” AI models with enhanced trust cues. If it can overcome the dangers of socially isolated people relying on AI for companionship, it could be a big step forward for independent aging.
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