For too many people with suspected heart problems, invasive catheterization is necessary to diagnose blocked or narrowed arteries. Doctors must then choose the best method for improving blood flow from a handful of options, including balloon angioplasty and stenting. Charles Taylor, a former Stanford professor, started HeartFlow to help patients avoid invasive diagnostic procedures and improve treatment outcomes. The company’s system creates personalized 3-D models that can be rotated and zoomed into, so doctors can simulate various approaches on screens. In some cases, it can help avoid invasive procedures entirely. “By adding the HeartFlow … to our available resources for diagnosing stable coronary disease, we are able to provide patients with better care as we evaluate risk,” said Duke University cardiologist Manesh Patel, at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting in March. —Jeffrey Kluger
Isabel Van de Keere was at work one day in 2010 when a steel light fixture pulled loose from the ceiling and fell on her. The accident left Van de Keere, a Belgian-born Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, with a cervical spine injury and severe vertigo that required three years of intense neurological rehabilitation. She practiced the same tedious exercises dozens of times in a row, with progress so slow it seemed undetectable. Now 38, she’s the founder and CEO of Immersive Rehab, a London-based startup whose goal is to change the neurological-rehab experience using virtual reality. By expanding the range and type of exercises patients can try, VR creates more opportunities to harness the brain’s plasticity and repair neural pathways; increases the amount of data caregivers can use to measure progress and adapt programs; and improves the monotonous, frustrating experience of rehab. Feedback from volunteer patients and therapists has been promising; the company is now preparing to run clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe.—Corinne Purtill