Premera AwardsThe greater Seattle area is a hotbed for health technology and the past year has seen groundbreaking advancements in the sector. So it’s little wonder that there’s stiff competition for the 2021 GeekWire Health Innovation of the Year. The category highlights pioneering health, life science, biotechnology or medical breakthroughs that hold great promise for bettering our lives or improving the healthcare system.

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center took home the prize last year, thanks to a project that helps a patient’s immune cells fight solid tumors. Virtual primary care startup 98point6 won in 2019, and is now in the running for Deal of the Year.

Community voting is currently underway across 13 GeekWire Awards categories in our 13th annual celebration of Pacific Northwest tech. It ends on April 30. Our readers’ votes will be factored in with feedback from more than 20 judges.

On May 20 we will announce the winners live at the virtual GeekWire Awards, presented by Wave Business. The Health Innovation category is being presented by Premera Blue Cross.

Submit your votes below, grab your tickets and keep reading to learn more about the game-changing finalists.

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Adaptive Biotechnologies

The company developed a first-of-its kind diagnostic tool called T-Detect COVID. The technology surveys a person’s T-cells to determine if they’ve had COVID-19, which is a more accurate way to get an answer than using antibodies for detecting past infections.

Impel NeuroPharma

This biotech company created the Precision Olfactory Delivery platform, which sends drugs deep into the nasal cavity with the goal of penetrating the blood-brain barrier. The approach could more directly target the brain in delivering drugs for treating migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, and agitation caused by Bipolar I and schizophrenia disorders.

Optimize.health

As the pandemic made virtual healthcare something of a mainstay, this company has been building on its remote health monitoring service used by customers including independent practices and hospital systems. Their platform facilitates communication with patients and insurance billing.

Proprio

This University of Washington spinout is building high-tech surgical tools that incorporate computer vision, robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and medical imaging. The system produces a live, real-time image allowing surgeons to essentially look inside a body without glancing at another screen.

TwinStrand Biosciences

This startup is developing next-generation DNA sequencing technology that aims to provide early cancer detection, rapid identification of carcinogens and other breakthroughs. Also a UW spinout, the company’s Duplex Sequencing uses cloud technologies and advanced error-correction algorithms to more accurately find rare genetic variants.

A big thanks to our longtime awards presenting partner, Wave Business, for supporting this fun community event. Also, thanks to gold and category sponsors: Blink UX, WSGR, JLL, EYPremera, Dreambox Learning, BECU, WestRiver Group, ALLtech and First Tech Federal Credit Union. And to our silver sponsors BCRA and Kingston Marketing Group. If interested in sponsoring a category or another component of the GeekWire Awards, please contact us at advertising@geekwire.com.
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