MoodSpark buys defunct startup’s IP, minds focused on disrupting elderly veterans’ depression
May 11, 2022 | Startland News Staff
A slew of new patents and tools are now in the hands of a KCK-rooted startup that aims to protect aging military veterans that suffer from loneliness, anxiety and depression.
MoodSpark has acquired assets previously held by California-based Dthera Sciences — an early leader of the digital therapeutics space, known for its innovative quality of life therapies, the company announced Wednesday.
MoodSpark’s digital companion uses artificial intelligence to detect such behaviors, alert family, friends, or caregivers, provide digital check ins and assistance in times of social isolation, provide behavioral health intervention, and share engagement data, activity, and response information with caregivers.
As part of the acquisition, MoodSpark has received a sizable IP portfolio that contains patents, a technology platform, an FDA breakthrough device designation, and clinical pilot research related to Dthera’s system for treating anxiety, agitation, and depression in elderly patients experiencing neurodegenerative diseases that include Alzheimers and dementia.
The publicly traded company ended operations in late 2019 after raising about $5 million in five years.
“Dthera pioneered digital therapeutics targeting geriatric CNS disorders. This deal provides us a significant amount of market validation, broadens our IP portfolio, and gets us closer to our dual-use vision for the MoodSpark digital companion,” said Eliot Arnold, co-founder of MoodSpark and a 2021 Techstars Kansas City cohort member.
The Dethera assets will be used in combination with existing MoodSpark technology — known for its ability to detect sadness and promote (or spark) a shift in a person’s mood using memories, conversations, and video visits from loved ones.
“Some of the brightest minds in digital therapeutics were behind Dthera. We are very excited to bring the combined solution to market and establish ourselves as a market leader in social assistive technology.”
Want to learn more about MoodSpark? Click here to further explore its technology.
As the company rolls its new IP into its existing growth strategy, MoodSpark intends to use its technology to reach aging U.S. veterans, the company said.
“The United States has the largest generation of warfighters quickly approaching or at retirement age,” the company explained, noting the Department of Veterans Affairs lists anxiety, depression, loneliness, and social isolation as on the rise among senior veterans.
“The United States is increasingly turning to advanced technology to not only support independent living among older veterans, but to foster human connections and combat cognitive decline.”
2022 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Lenexa teen IDs winning medical solution with Parkinson’s detection tech FacePrint
Stanford University will have to wait. Eighteen-year-old Erin Smith is taking her medical technology venture, FacePrint, on the road. The Johnson County teen has been selected to join two prestigious fellowships to further develop FacePrint, which is a diagnostic and monitoring Tool for Parkinson’s Disease. She’s been tapped for $25,000 from the Davidson Institute for…
Velocity Lee’s Summit gets first big boost from city with $145K innovation investment
A $145,000 allocation for Velocity Lee’s Summit represents the first step in the City of Lee’s Summit getting serious about investing in innovation, said Grant Gooding. “There is a lot of talent in Lee’s Summit and we wanted to give entrepreneurs a place and an ecosystem to foster the development of their businesses,” said Gooding,…
Pure Pitch Rally returning to Techweek with land sharks hungry to invest more than $80K
A frenzy of land sharks ready to bite on startups’ best ideas is gathering at The American restaurant during Techweek to award up to $80,000 in cash and $500,000 in Amazon AWS Activate credits. The one-of-a-kind Pure Pitch Rally event — set for 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct 10 — plays off the hit…
Inc. 5000 report: Kansas City retailers among metro’s fastest growing companies
Shoppers are buying, spurring retail growth in Kansas City, according to details gleaned from the 2018 Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies list. Released Wednesday morning, the report showed a slight dip in performance for Kansas City overall compared to 2017. Three dozen Kansas City-area firms landed on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list, a drop from the…