ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) at the University of Michigan introduces the six medical technology ventures selected for the 2027 Perot Jain TechLab HealthTech program. The cohort was selected through a competitive summer evaluation process that reviewed more than 75 applications from some of the most promising health-tech startups worldwide.
PJTL HealthTech engages technically talented students in exploratory projects that address pressing clinical and diagnostic challenges. The program is made possible through a partnership with the Michigan Medicine Center for Surgical Innovation. Over two consecutive semesters, four-person student teams collaborate with startup leaders and Michigan Medicine clinicians. Participating startups gain access to U-M labs, specialized instrumentation support, and top-tier student talent at no financial cost, while maintaining ownership of intellectual property.
Nick Moroz
CFE Director of Entrepreneurial Education & Director of the Perot Jain TechLab ProgramsThe 2027 PJTL HeathTech company cohort and projects include:
Vistim Labs (Miami, FL) — Vistim Labs develops non-invasive brain health monitoring (Ceregram™) to track cognitive decline. Building on prior PJTL research, students will develop a clinical research dashboard that aims to correlate novel signal-processing biomarkers with clinical endpoints, thereby visualizing Alzheimer’s Disease progression and predicting treatment response.
iO Life Science (Redwood City, CA): iO Life Science is a medtech incubator with a track record of advancing devices from concept through commercialization. Students will prototype and validate a compact bedside reader and single-use sensing cartridge, paired with an AI model that interprets the drain-fluid signals to flag postoperative complications early, addressing a real gap: leaks and infections are often caught late, after a patient deteriorates, because drain fluid is not analyzed at the bedside.
NEG+ Innovations (Weston, MA) — NEG+ Innovations develops smart surgical instruments and obstetrics devices for maternal and pelvic health. Students will design and validate an intelligent sensing module combining PMUT ultrasound and NIRS sensors with FPGA safety interlocks for a Pudendal Nerve Block (PNB) regional anesthesia surgical tool.
Alercell (Bozeman, MT) — Alercell is a precision-oncology company developing the LENA Platform for pre-symptomatic detection of myeloid blood cancers via DNA methylation signatures. Students will use public genomic repositories to reproduce leukemia methylation signatures independently, then explore a candidate methylation signature for breast cancer.
LifeSADX (Cape Town, South Africa) — LifeSADX creates smartphone-connected electrochemical biosensors for rapid point-of-care testing across HIV, tuberculosis, and maternal health. Students will build an AI-assisted software platform to process raw biosensor signals, score measurement quality, interpret multiplexed biomarkers, and generate clinical recommendations.
OaCP (Cork, Ireland) — OaCP develops patented, IVDR-compliant reagents that compress Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) cancer test workflows from days to two hours. Leveraging thousands of real-world clinical cases, students will build a software-in-the-loop benchmarking sandbox to fine-tune deep learning models (AICP) for detecting FISH slide preparation errors and identifying neoplastic cells.
Perot Jain TechLab goes far beyond traditional classroom learning. We recruit students representing almost every college at Michigan, build diverse project teams, and pair them with innovative startups to solve tough technical problems. Students are entrusted to lead from day one, balancing hands-on technical work with full project management: scoping deliverables, leading meetings with startup founders, driving timelines, and presenting their results. Giving students that level of trust and autonomy builds a genuine confidence, leadership capability, and network that stays with them long after graduation. – Alison Smith, Assistant Director of Student Resources at the Center for Entrepreneurship