65 Startups That are Treating the Human Body (graphic)

The health sector is opening its doors to innovation in the wake of the Affordable Care Act and other reforms.

In buzzing technology hubs like San Francisco and New York, thousands of entrepreneurs are developing new medical devices, lab tests, drugs and software to improve how patients are treated today.

Many of these startups are focused on the systems level, meaning they are helping hospitals improve patient experience and/or cut costs. Others are developing new therapies for a specific disease, like diabetes or cancer.

CB Insights, a research firm, put together a list of 65 U.S. based health startups that are focused on the latter: Treating the human body. Their research is by no means exhaustive, but I found it to be a useful reference.

According to CB Insights, healthcare and life sciences companies raised more than $8B from VC firms in 2014. While the digital health space is particularly trendy (it's our focus at Future of You), many of these startups fall into the biotech category, which is also currently experiencing a surge -- some are even calling it a "mania."

Some of the startups that made the list are well-known, such as Theranos, which claims to have invented a way to run 30 lab tests on a single drop of blood or Neuropace, which is developing an implantable medical device to treat epilepsy.  Others are more secretive or under-the-radar as their products may have some unique intellectual property or still be under development.

A spokesperson from CB Insights said they developed this list through a combination of search technology and manual input. The infographic (above) is restricted to U.S. based private companies with venture capital funding.

Please reach out to me at cfarr@kqed.org if your startup isn't featured in the CB Insights' infographic, but should be considered.