Challenge Goal
For the fourth Massachusetts Digital Health Sandbox Challenge, the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) sought startups and entrepreneurs who are developing and validating digital health-based solutions that strengthen and sustain primary care in Massachusetts. This Challenge focused on digital health innovations that address urgent issues in primary care, specifically in the areas of administrative burden, workforce burnout and patient access. Finalists competed for $320,000 in grant funding to support validation projects with MeHI’s Digital Health Sandboxes. This Challenge aligns with the goals of the Massachusetts Primary Care Access, Delivery and Payment Task Force established in 2025, co-chaired by the Health Policy Commission and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). View Challenge Infographic
Program Overview
After applications closed in December 2025, MeHI staff selected 24 companies as semi-finalists based on their uniqueness in the market, potential commercial viability and ability to support the goals of the Primary Care Innovation Challenge.
Semi-finalist companies completed a Sandbox Matchmaking Survey and were matched with the cutting-edge research and development organizations from the Massachusetts Digital Health Sandbox Network. Sandboxes and semi-finalists met throughout February 2026 to discuss potential projects and identify research partners.
In March 2026, MeHI selected nine companies to participate in the program. Each selected company was matched with one sandbox. Over the next two months, companies participated in Mass Digital Health Connects, a series of informative and interactive virtual workshops featuring prominent voices from across the ecosystem.
During the program, participants worked with their sandbox matches to scope projects to test and validate their solutions to help bring them to market faster.
On June 3, 2026, the nine finalists pitched their solutions at Mass Digital Health Forward, MeHI’s annual gathering to celebrate the innovations and partnerships that are impacting health care across the Commonwealth. A panel of expert judges recommended four winners to each receive $80,000 to complete their proposed sandbox project.
Congratulations to the Winners:
Coredio
Coredio’s non-invasive cardiac monitoring platform empowers primary care providers to confidently manage heart failure patients - reducing unnecessary specialist referrals and preventing avoidable ED visits. They will work with the UMass Chan Medical School Sandbox to conduct an early feasibility and implementation study to identify whether Coredio’s FDA Breakthrough-designated CPSE™ platform can be deployed inside a real PCP–cardiology co-management workflow.
Hub Healthcare
HUB Healthcare is a modular workflow platform designed to reduce administrative burden, improve care coordination, and increase patient access without replacing existing systems. They will work with the New England Deaconess Association sandbox to pilot a configurable care-coordination workflow for outpatient rehabilitation residents.
SGAI HealthLink
SGAI HealthLink’s non-contact, camera-based AI platform captures key vital signs along with novel biomarkers such as blood lactate and blood glucose. They will work with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers sandbox to conduct a 26-week pilot of SGAI’s novel vitals station, Genie, within the Lynn Community Health Center pharmacy.
Welfie
Welfie Health Force Academy is a digital training and workforce enablement platform designed to strengthen and sustain primary care by developing the health equity workforce. They will work with the New England Deaconess Association sandbox to co-design and test a Universal Healthcare Worker (UHW) certification using the Welfie Academy platform and align the certification with continuing education credit.