The Best Boomer Businesses

 

A provider of mobile hearing aid centers and the developer of a handheld blood analyzer each won $10,000 in this year's Silicon Valley Boomer Business Plan Competition.

World Hearing Organization, a San Jose, Calif.-based company that won the top prize for the general category, plans to use its mobile centers at hospitals, drugstores, and nursing homes. The service provides hearing tests hearing aids at a reduced rate.

SeroNostics, which is run by a group of UC Berkeley Ph.D. students, won the award in the health category for a device that will enable physicians and nurses to analyze blood and other bodily fluids without having to send a sample to a lab. The device was originally designed to diagnose skin infections, but developers plan to branch out to other diseases.

The Boomer Business Plan Competition gives awards for innovations aimed at the baby boomer generation in health, technology, finance, and other fields. The winners were honored at the annual Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit at Santa Clara University last week.

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