Cleveland Clinic Innovations Medical Innovation Summit is set to take place from October 25th-28th this year. It will once again kick off with the New Ventures Healthcare Challenge, the search for the next great early-stage health IT company poised to hit the market with better healthcare solutions.

"The New Ventures Healthcare Challenge is designed to identify technologies that present the most compelling ideas for delivering better health, improved care and lower costs as we remain focused on patients first," says Gary Fingerhut, CCI executive director.

Last year, 46 companies from around the world presented their products and services in a YouTube video in the first round. The group was narrowed down to 12 in the second round before four companies were chosen to present at the Innovation Summit’s onset.

Boston-based Admetsys, which has created a system to monitor and manage blood glucose levels in diabetic patients while they are in hospital ICUs after surgery, won the challenge in 2014. “In critical care patients, hypoglycemia is a killer and it’s a challenge nurses are faced with every day in the ICU,” says Admetsys CEO Jeff Valk.

Admetsys’ system has now gone through three clinical trials. The system should hit European markets in 2016 and the United States in 2017. As the winner of the New Ventures Healthcare Challenge, Valk says the support his company received after the Summit was valuable.

“The Cleveland Clinic is not a name that needs any particular introduction,” says Valk. “The Summit is fantastic and going to talk to people at the Innovation Summit was a no-brainer. Gary Fingerhut and his team did an outstanding job. He’s very plugged in and has lots of resources on his team.”

The winner of the challenge receives free consultation from commercialization experts at Cleveland Clinic Innovations and the Innovations advisory board, which consists of well-known industry experts, entrepreneurs, and healthcare investors.

“Any health IT entrepreneurs should submit a video,” says Fingerhut.

Applications for this year’s challenge are now being accepted through Friday, June 26. To apply, send a 90-second video to MIS2015@ccf.org. The video should cover what is unique about the technology, why the technology will be game changing, how big will the impact be, and what the company’s strategic goals are. Companies selected to present will do so on Monday, October 26.

The Summit takes place Sunday, October 25 through Wednesday, October 28 at the Global Center for Health Innovation. The theme this year is around neurosciences, “Memory, Mood and Movement.” Registration is now open for the event.