From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— Two finalists in this year’s Pressure Chamber pitch competition are developing healthcare innovations aimed at improving imaging and at-home care coordination.
The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting the annual event Aug. 18 as part of Forward Festival, this week rolled out details for the four finalists that will compete before a live audience and panel of judges.
The winner will claim the “golden suitcase” award and will take part in a chamber-organized trip to meet with Silicon Valley investors in the fall. Chamber President Zach Brandon notes that Pressure Chamber has now been running for more than a dozen years.
“This year’s finalists exemplify the strength and versatility of that economy,” he said in a statement. “Representing diverse industries, they are united in their approach to solving complex problems with unique, innovative solutions.”
The health-related finalists include:
*CellTrack, a company with technology for non-invasive imaging in the field of cell therapies. The business boasts 100 times greater sensitivity than alternatives, resulting in costs and development times being reduced by half.
*CuroNow, a care coordination platform for home care agencies to keep information organized between caregivers, agencies and clients.
See details on the other finalists in the release below.
Learn more about Forward Festival in a recent podcast. Register for an Aug. 19 WisPolitics-Wisconsin Technology Council luncheon with WEDC Secretary and CEO John Miller, also part of Forward Festival.
For more of the latest news on the state economy and Wisconsin businesses from startups to industry leaders, sign up today for a free two-week trial of the daily morning news report from WisBusiness.com.
— UnityPoint Health – Meriter has opened a new cardiac procedure space in Madison that will be run through a joint operating agreement with UW Health.
The health system today announced the opening of the new unit, which will perform specialized procedures such as transesophageal echocardiograms, which use ultrasound waves to capture a moving image of the heart. It will serve both Meriter and UW Health patients, having begun procedures there last week.
Through the new cardiac facility, providers at the hospital will be able to care for 80 to 90 patients per month, nearly doubling the previous capacity. At the same time, the typical wait time has been dropped from up to three months to about two weeks, while the length of patient visits has also been cut in half to about two hours.
Trish Siler, Meriter’s director of critical care and interventional services, calls it a “major step forward” for the region’s cardiac care options.
“By combining the shared values and strengths of Meriter and UW Health through our joint partnership, we’ve built a specialized, highly efficient unit that puts patient comfort and clinical excellence at the forefront,” Siler said in the release.
See the release below.
— A Senate subcommittee chaired by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has obtained a copy of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s cell phone.
Johnson wrote on X late yesterday evening that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations had obtained a copy of the former top public official’s phone from the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Hopefully, this device will address many of the questions he refused to answer at last week’s hearing,” Johnson, R-Oshkosh, wrote.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the story.
News of the release of Fauci’s phone data to the Senate panel came hours before Republicans on that panel, including Johnson, voted to hold Fauci in contempt for refusing to answer questions at a Senate hearing last week. The committee chair, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, has said he will refer the contempt resolution to the U.S. Justice Department for possible prosecution.
Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times in last week’s hearing, where Republicans assailed him for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and cast him as a liar and an egomaniac.
Johnson, who has promoted unsubstantiated theories about COVID-19 vaccine injuries, pressed Fauci about his knowledge of an alleged conspiracy to suppress medical data documenting such injuries.
Fauci received a blanket pardon from President Joe Biden before the latter left office, but has said he believes the Homeland Security Committee’s scrutiny of him is a pretense by Paul to lure Fauci into saying something that could lead to Fauci being criminally prosecuted.
See more in the latest WisPolitics DC Wrap.
— WisconsinEye and State Affairs-WisPolitics are partnering on a series of gubernatorial candidate interview highlights, with the latest focused on healthcare views and policies.
The Dem primary is Tuesday.
Watch the WisEye Morning Minute healthcare highlight clip here, and find full interviews with candidates here.
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Press Releases
– Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce: Announces 2026 Pressure Chamber finalists
– UnityPoint Health – Meriter: Launches innovative Cardiac Procedure Unit
