• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • AI
    • Blockchain
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage
  • Life Sciences
  • Research

Massachusetts Announces $5M Grant to Launch Digital Health Innovation Lab

by Jasmine Pennic 04/17/2017 Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Massachusetts Announces $5M Grant to Launch Digital Health Innovation Lab

Last Thursday,  Massachusetts Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined executives from GE for the announcement of a $5 million grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative toward the construction of a new digital health innovation lab at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The grant will be matched by nearly $9.5 million from WPI, as well as $2.5 million in support from GE Healthcare Life Sciences in both capital investments and imaging equipment. 

These funds will go toward new integrated research and development labs, called PracticePoint at WPI, which will focus on the commercialization of secure healthcare devices and systems.  PracticePoint at WPI will focus on the development of cyber-physical healthcare systems and products. These systems and products could include any device that intelligently interacts with people or things, such as robotic diagnostic tools, image-guided surgical robots, sensor-enabled and personalized therapeutics, smart rehabilitation devices, smart orthoses and prosthetics, or home healthcare proxy devices.

These smart and secure devices can help improve surgical procedures, rehabilitative care, and independent living, while ultimately enabling highly personalized precision therapies, procedures, and diagnostics to deliver truly personalized care.

The center will feature four settings — surgical, clinical, rehabilitative, and home healthcare — in a single research and development facility, helping accelerate product development cycles by providing rapid point-of-practice testing that will co-locate healthcare practitioners and technical teams.

 Multidisciplinary academic and industry teams will conduct pre-competitive research at PracticePoint to advance the entire field. The center will also offer a range of educational and training opportunities for workforce development to support the growing digital health industry in Massachusetts, which already boasts over 350 companies.  The facility will also integrate secure data analytics and equipment to test technologies for cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

“PracticePoint at WPI will help ensure Massachusetts continues as a global leader in digital healthcare and the innovation economy,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Along with our administration’s existing investments in advanced materials, smart devices, data and cyber security, this new public-private research and development partnership will deliver new advancements that create jobs and improve the lives of patients across the globe.”

This is the sixth award made by the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative under the Commonwealth’s Collaborative Research and Development Matching Grant program, which makes high-impact capital grant awards in promising areas of technology innovation. The Collaborative Research and Development Matching Grant program was established in 2012, with a $50 million in capital authorization, to spur additional research and development activity in the Commonwealth’s regions.

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Tap Native

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

Featured Insights

 Selecting the Right EMR: A Practical Guide to Streamlining Your Practice and Enhancing Patient Care

Selecting the Right EMR: A Practical Guide to Streamlining Your Practice and Enhancing Patient Care

Featured Interview

Virta Health CEO: GLP-1s Didn’t Kill Weight Watchers, Its Broken Model Did

Most-Read

Health IT Sector Navigates Policy Turbulence with Resilient M&A

Health IT’s New Chapter: IPOs Return, Resilient M&A, Valuations Rise in 1H 2025

PwC Report: US Medical Cost Trend to Remain Elevated at 8.5% in 2026

PwC Report: US Medical Cost Trend to Remain Elevated at 8.5% in 2026

Philips Launches ECG AI Marketplace, Partnering with Anumana to Enhance Cardiac Care with AI-Powered Diagnostics

Philips Launches ECG AI Marketplace, Partnering with Anumana to Enhance Cardiac Care with AI-Powered Diagnostics

WeightWatchers Emerges from Bankruptcy, Launches New Menopause Program

WeightWatchers Emerges from Bankruptcy, Launches New Menopause Program

CMS Finalizes New Interoperability and Prior Authorization Rule

CMS Proposes 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Rule: Boosting Primary Care, Cutting Waste, and Modernizing Payments

Beyond SaaS: How Agent as a Service is Transforming Healthcare Automation

Beyond SaaS: How Agent as a Service is Transforming Healthcare Automation

New Strategies Needed: No Surprises Act and the Challenges for Payors with Provider Data Inaccuracies

Samsung Acquires Xealth to Accelerate Connected Care Vision

Samsung Acquires Xealth to Accelerate Connected Care Vision

AI Dominates Digital Health Investment in First Half of 2025

Rock Health Report: AI Dominates Digital Health Investment in First Half of 2025

Moving Beyond EHRs: What Lies Ahead for Healthcare Digitization?

AI Agents vs. Chatbots: Understanding Agentic AI’s Role in Healthcare

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Submit An Op-Ed
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2025. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |