The Massachusetts eHealth Institute, part of the MassTech Collaborative, expanded its Digital Health Sandbox Network with the addition of three innovation hubs, which will provide resources and expertise to guide health tech startups' research and development.
The new additions, announced Nov. 12, are Boston-based Brigham Health's Digital Innovation Hub, known as iHub; the Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Institute for Medical Engineering and Science; and Baystate Health's TechSpring, based in Springfield, Mass.
"By expanding the roster of sandbox locations in the network, we're offering both Massachusetts and non-Massachusetts startups expanded access to tools and testbeds that could be a springboard for their growth," Laurance Stuntz, director of the eHealth Institute, said in the announcement. "Our hope is that by working with these world-class facilities and staff, startups can improve on their products and shorten the time to market, helping deliver their products into the hands of healthcare consumers around the world more quickly."
The eHealth Institute launched the Digital Health Sandbox Network in April with $500,000 in state funding. According to the Nov. 12 news release, the first member of the network, Worcester (Mass.) Polytechnic Institute's PracticePoint facility, has been matched with two local startups, which will test and refine their products and services at the facility with the help of PracticePoint's tools, resources and expert guidance.
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