Eight international teams developing new biomedical technologies for range of medical challenges
- Teams begin seven-month innovation training and project mentoring from innovators at MIT and other leading institutions
- New technologies for a range of urgent medical needs, including post-surgical breath rehabilitation, organ transplant viability, and women’s health, among others
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, 1 DECEMBER 2025—MIT linQ, an international biomedical technology innovation consortium based in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Medical Engineering and Sciences (MIT IMES), introduced the eight teams admitted to IDEA2 2026. The seven-month program provides intensive innovation method training, collaborative project development, team-specific mentoring, and expertise to help projects move from novel ideas toward real-world application.
“We’re excited to meet these bright and talented teams at MIT for our first workshop,” said Dr Mercedes Balcells-Camps, Program Chair of IDEA2 and a Principal Research Scientist at MIT. “The selection committee was impressed by their proposals’ strength, and we look forward to accelerating their progress toward patient impact.”
Proposals for IDEA2 were invited from anywhere in the world, and selected teams come from the United States, Chile, Spain, and Greece. The projects selected for 2026 are:
- 1For1Health: AI-powered platform enabling affordable at-home fertility testing with expert telemedicine support.
- Airalux Medical: Digital incentive spirometer for improving lung conditions after major surgery.
- AK Care: Transformer-based segmentation and automated scoring of actinic keratosis for therapy monitoring.
- LiverSense: Device for real-time assessment of transplanted liver viability.
- LymphoLock: An implant for lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA) from Melorix Medical.
- Merunova: An MRI post-processing algorithm for more accurate diagnosis of disc degeneration in the lumbar spine.
- SignalSafe 2.0: A haptic device for hard of hearing and early onset dementia.
- SimOSpine: Precision spinal surgery through personalized digital modelling.
The teams were selected competitively based on their potential for impact and readiness for additional support. Through group innovation training and individualized mentorship and advising, the teams will refine their research and development strategy to heighten the opportunity to healthcare impact.
Analog Devices joins IDEA² this year as a valued supporter, strengthening our shared commitment to nurturing innovation with global impact. Dr. Martha Gray, Whitaker Professor in Biomedical Engineering at MIT and Director of MIT linQ, said, “We’re thrilled to have Analog Devices’ support and to welcome members of their Innovation Lab, Analog Garage, in our program this year.”
“We’re excited to support the MIT IDEA² program, sharing our industry expertise and gaining new perspectives from an inspiring cohort of global innovators,” said Gina Aquilano, Managing Director of Analog Garage. “Healthcare is a key focus at the Garage, where we develop cutting-edge solutions that sense and interpret the physical world by combining our expertise in analog, digital, signal processing, software, and algorithms to measure what was once thought impossible.”
The teams will meet in January at MIT for an initial workshop to sharpen the focus on the medical need they intend to address. They will then be matched with project mentors and subject and technology experts to help them develop their project over the summer. In April, the teams will meet again in a workshop to refine their project definition. Finally, in June they will gather to make their presentations of the progress in the program and make plans for next steps.
About IDEA2
IDEA² provides mentoring and connections to biomedical innovators around the world to develop their project ideas and to provide the expertise to realize them. It is especially valuable for trainees, early-stage professionals, and those who have few opportunities in their normal work to participate in innovation projects. More at https://idea2.mit.edu
About MIT linQ
MIT linQ is an initiative based in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Medical Engineering and Sciences (MIT IMES) to develop a new paradigm for biomedical technology innovation. MIT linQ unifies a portfolio of international innovation programs focused on improving healthcare through need-driven, interdisciplinary research and training. For more information, visit http://linq.mit.edu