A new collaborative space for health care innovation opened in the Ion building in Midtown on Aug. 28 under the direction of the Houston Methodist Hospital system.
The Houston Methodist Tech Hub, announced in August 2022, is the second such hub to open in Houston; the first can be found in the Houston Methodist Center for Innovation in the Texas Medical Center.
In an Aug. 28 news release, officials also called the new 1,200-square-foot space a "living laboratory for digital health technology." In it, health care professionals can access simulated environments for an inpatient hospital room, outpatient doctor's clinics and patient home experiences. The hub also provides a complete laboratory, which clinical staff can use to evaluate innovations and pilot health care-related technology, including remote monitoring, ambient intelligence—which can be used to create clinical notes based on patient conversations—and autonomous technology.
With its new home, Houston Methodist will operate alongside other Ion tenants, which include Per Scholas, a tuition-free school aimed at developing tech skills; Motif Neurotech, a medical equipment manufacturing startup; and Synopic, a startup focused on improving cameras to aid in medical procedures.
