UCM Ventures

Parasol Med Tech has raised an oversubscribed $2.75M pre-seed. Harper Court Ventures (Ayo Roberts), UCM Ventures (Hannah Levine) and Cardiovascular Innovation Ventures (Richard Chazal) took part. Parasol Med Tech is a University of Chicago spinout developing a stroke-prevention device for people with atrial fibrillation. Its catheter-and-gel system is designed to seal the left atrial appendage, the part of the heart where clots form, without leaving a metal implant in the body. The gel is meant to conform to each patient's anatomy, which targets the leaks and clots that can form around today's fixed-shape devices. The system is investigational and has not been cleared or approved by the FDA. Parasol will use the funding for R&D and to test, iterate and optimize its catheter-and-gel system. It also won $250,000 from the University of Chicago's George Shultz Innovation Fund and has joined the UChicago Science Incubator. Founders: Atman Shah, founder and chief medical officer, is an interventional cardiologist and cardiac cath lab director at UChicago Medicine and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He has performed more than 1,000 left atrial appendage closure procedures. Evan Singer, president and CEO, led new product commercialization and marketing behind an FDA 510(k) clearance for a Class II device at Align Technology. As CEO of SmartBiz, he built a fintech and led its acquisition of a nationally chartered bank.

Yesterday, I attended Chicago Venture Summit, where this year's programming was focused on the Future of Health. Was proud to watch True Wealth Ventures portfolio company Partum Health's CEO Meghan Doyle present to the full audience, after being presented by fellow investor Hannah Levine at UChicago Medicine Ventures. Partum provides comprehensive, whole-person care for growing families - including doulas, lactation support, pelvic floor PT, nutrition and behavioral health - in IL, TX and MI. Much of the care is covered by insurance - including Medicaid, with growing commercial insurance coverage for doulas in IL. They're also now embedded in two health care systems, including University of Chicago Medicine and Rush. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gbxZWd2C

Calling all health startups: Apply now to join the official Startup Portfolio of the 2026 Chicago Venture Summit: Future of Health by World Business Chicago! This October 20th, the Chicago Venture Summit returns with a focus on everything next-gen health. We invite entrepreneurs, investors, and industry executives to experience why our city is a leading global destination for health innovation. If you're a startup in the health space, now is the perfect time to secure complimentary Summit attendance (and much more!) by joining the official Startup Portfolio! As a portfolio member, you receive a free ticket to the Summit, gain access to bespoke benefits, and connect with global investors. Join us this October to connect, grow, and lead the future of health! View more information about the Chicago Venture Summit and apply today: https://lnkd.in/eN_JzY3t

On July 16, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a new Committee Statement on partnering with doulas in clinical settings, and we couldn’t be more excited to see national guidance reinforce what we have believed from day one and are actively putting into practice. The statement calls on clinicians and health systems to: 🤝 Build respectful, collaborative care teams that include doulas 🏥 Integrate doulas into clinical workflows, not treat them as visitors 💬 Foster open communication between clinicians and doulas 📚 Educate patients about the role and benefits of doula care 📈 Expand access to evidence-based doula services At Partum Health, these principles aren’t aspirational - they are fundamental to our partnerships. With UChicago Medicine, we’ve intentionally built a model around many of the strategies highlighted in ACOG’s guidance. Together, we’ve integrated doula support as critical care in the hospital through: - Hospital onboarding, identification badges, and L&D orientation - Education for clinicians and doulas about one another's roles and scope of practice - Clear communication pathways, bedside collaboration, and post-case debriefs - Ongoing relationship-building between doulas, nurses, physicians, and hospital leadership - Continuous refinement of workflows to improve both the patient and provider experience Seeing these recommendations published by American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is exciting because it reinforces that successful doula integration isn’t just about bringing doulas into hospitals - it’s about intentionally building systems that enable doulas and clinicians to work together as one care team with one shared goal - a better experience for patients with fewer complications and better long term health. And while we know doulas play a critical role on the team, there is a need to ensure other specialists including physical therapists, behavioral health providers, lactation consultants, and dietitians have a place on the team as well. ACOG issued guidance on this back in 2018 and in this statement mentioned the important role doulas can play in ensuring patients access holistic care. We are grateful to our partners at UChicago Medicine and the other health systems we're working with for helping pioneer this model and to everyone who contributed to this important Committee Statement. As more health systems look to implement ACOG’s recommendations, we are excited to partner with organizations that want to build collaborative, evidence-based maternity care models to improve outcomes for families. Read the full Committee Statement here: https://lnkd.in/dpb4aXBd

I had a fantastic time presenting Theta Neurotech at MedTech Innovator's Radar Forum in LA this past week It was the densest concentration of high-quality medtech opinions that I have experienced to date, with great representation from the federal government (FDA, CMS, NIH), investors, engineers, manufacturing, and advocacy It will take a village to scale Theta's technology to the tens of millions of epilepsy patients in-need - it was great to broaden our network to the best of the best Special thanks to the MTI team (Nicole Black, PhD, Paul Grand) for having us! Christopher Fitz Dhanushka Fernando