Following the money in health tech: sensor technology and personalized medicine got a boost in March

The $ 1,000 genome isn’t here quite yet, but startups are making some headway in using genetics, data and deep analysis to provide more personalized care for patients. Although it wasn’t the sector to attract the most funding in March, personalized medicine had one of its best months to date, according to Startup Health Academy’s monthly insights report.

Overall, health technology startups received $ 120 million from investors in March, a 12 percent increase from the same period last year. Deal volume nearly tripled, from 13 deals last March to 36 this year.

Here’s an at-a-glance look at activity last month:

startuphealth_March

  • Although practice management was the dominant sector by funding amount last month (largely because of One Medical Group’s Series F round), sensor technology was a bigger winner in terms of deal volume.  In addition to the nearly $ 12 million raised by health-tracking wristwatch startup Basis, companies including Rock Health-backed Podimetrics, which makes an intelligent floor mat for helping diabetic patients detect foot ulcers, and Sensiotec, which develops technology that monitors heart and respiration rates without any direct patient contact, added new funding.
  • Personalized medicine got a boost last month. Five startups – from those that speed up the analysis of DNA sequence data to those that give chronic disease patients in-depth reports and analysis on their personal condition – raised funding, including Spiral Genetics, Bina Technologies and MetaMed.
  • Last month, Nike announced the 10 companies participating in the first class of its TechStars-powered accelerator for fitness-related startups. This points to a growing trend of strategic investors attempting to drive innovation around specific themes. Earlier this year, GE announced a partnership with Startup Health to invest in consumer health startups. “I think we’re going to start to see strategic partners do more of these types of programs in the future,” said Unity Stoakes, president of Startup Health.

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