patient monitoring systems and training to military branches and civilian agencies, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The new funding is a modification to an existing contract between the military and GE Healthcare; the agreement is entering its seventh year and can be extended for up to two more years.
—Bridge to Cures, a Milwaukee-area nonprofit accelerator for healthcare companies spun out of local universities, intends to raise more funds and expand the size of its accelerator program. It recently held its first healthcare innovation pitch contest, in which nine teams vied for $110,000. The event attracted investors from the likes of Novartis and OrbiMed.
—Two Milwaukee-based entrepreneurs have teamed up with a manager at an Aspen, CO-based brewery to create a 10-week brewing incubator, the Milwaukee Business Journal reported. The program, called Barley to Barrel, will kick off in February and be held at Company Brewing in Milwaukee. Teams will create business plans, design floor layouts, and perform many of the other tasks required to launch a brewery.
—As many pro football fans and now moviegoers know, research has shown that players in contact sports who sustain repetitive hits to the head face a heightened risk of developing dementia and certain neurodegenerative diseases later in life. Football is arguably America’s new national pastime, making brain injuries a national concern. Wisconsin is no exception: recent research from UW Health physicians links severe head injuries to poor and illegal tackling form; meanwhile, a doctor and budding entrepreneur in the Milwaukee area is developing a helmet using air cell technology he says could help reduce concussions.
