ARTICLE SUMMARY:
Diseases that fall under the ENT purview are often conditions that patients live with for years without a durable solution, managing their symptoms one day at a time. Rather than accept suffering as a standard, otolaryngology start-ups SinuSafe Medical, Otolith Labs, and Neurent Medical are offering minimally invasive therapeutic devices to treat debilitating, yet largely ignored, conditions of the ear and nose.
As a medical specialty, ENT comprises some of the most common diseases, including infections of the upper respiratory tract that may progress and spread dangerously into the lungs or brain. Still, many patients become acclimated to chronic conditions that affect their daily quality of life because the journey to intervention can be long and arduous. Available medications only address symptoms and do little to restore patients’ long-term comfort, not to mention overuse of weak antibiotics can increase bacterial resistance.
Though the specific anatomy varies greatly between the ear, nose, and throat, as do the conditions that can impact them, otolaryngologists’ collective domain is not only a gateway for pathogens into the body, but also a critical sensory hub that if compromised can be debilitating. As seen across areas of medicine, a movement away from pharmaceutical dependence is accompanied by a movement away from invasive and costly surgeries, spurring the rollout of new technologies with more appealing safety profiles. The following three companies are each offering a novel solution to untreated populations with chronic conditions.
