In healthcare, 2025 feels like a turning point. Hospitals and clinics that once tested new technology in limited pilots are now rolling it out across entire systems.
A Deloitte survey found that more than 70% of healthcare executives plan to improve efficiency and productivity through technology, with 90% expecting accelerated adoption of digital tools in 2025.
Forbes pointed to 2026 as the year AI-driven “virtual hospitals” and autonomous clinical assistants take hold.
From documentation and diagnostics to infection control and fertility medicine, the latest healthcare innovations are moving beyond pilot programs and into daily clinical use.
In this blog, we spotlight five healthcare inventions named in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025 list that reflect how care delivery is becoming more connected, data-driven and accessible to patients everywhere.
Abridge: Ambient Clinical Documentation
Developed by a Pittsburgh-based team led by cardiologist Dr. Shiv Rao, Abridge uses AI to convert doctor-patient conversations into clinical notes that go directly into the electronic health record (EHR).
Early this year, the platform was implemented by about 2,000 Mayo Clinic clinicians after a quality review and is expanding across Hartford HealthCare following a successful pilot. As of June 2025, the company has raised $300 million to build new tools that simplify medical documentation and reduce administrative work for healthcare providers.
Akara: OR Operations and UV Disinfection
Akara’s AI sensor helps hospitals track surgical events and manage operating room (OR) schedules through a small sensor that detects key moments during surgery.
Akara’s AI platform also includes an autonomous ultraviolet-C (UV-C) robot, called Akara Violet, that disinfects rooms using targeted light exposure. The robot holds a European CE mark, meaning it meets safety and performance standards, and has been tested for use in occupied hospital spaces. Akara’s technology aims to improve OR turnover while maintaining strong infection-control practices.
Columbia University: STAR (Sperm Tracking and Recovery)
Developed by researchers at Columbia University Fertility Center, the STAR system combines imaging, AI and robotics to detect and retrieve extremely rare sperm cells in men with severe infertility. In June 2025, the team reported the first pregnancy achieved using this method. The system scans millions of images per hour, identifies viable sperm and isolates them for use in in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. It offers a less invasive alternative for men diagnosed with azoospermia, a condition where no sperm is visible in semen samples.
OnMed: CareStation Clinic-in-a-Box
OnMed’s CareStation brings virtual and in-person care together in a single walk-in unit that can be placed in airports, grocery stores, college campuses or rural areas. Inside, patients can connect live with licensed clinicians and use built-in diagnostic tools to check vital signs like blood pressure, oxygen levels and temperature.
The company debuted the system at CES 2025 and has since installed CareStations in Texas, Connecticut and Georgia to expand access to primary care in underserved communities.
RapidAI: Lumina 3D for Advanced Stroke Imaging
Based in San Mateo, California, RapidAI develops AI software that helps clinicians interpret brain and vascular images and make faster treatment decisions. Its Lumina 3D technology, built on the Rapid Enterprise platform, automatically generating near-real-time 3D reconstructions from CT angiography scans.
Its other module, AngioFlow, was cleared by the FDA and brings perfusion imaging directly into the angiography suite, allowing specialists to assess brain blood flow in real time.
In a 2025 study, RapidAI’s software detected 33% more medium vessel occlusions than a competing platform, showing its potential to support stroke diagnosis and intervention across hospital networks.
Outcomes4Me (Precision Cancer Navigation Platform)
Outcomes4Me is an AI-powered cancer navigation platform helping patients understand their diagnosis and explore treatment and clinical trial options.
It partnered with Labcorp to integrate biomarker and genomic testing directly into the platform, for personalized cancer care. Meanwhile, a collaboration with NBCUniversal’s Forecast Labs hopes to expand public awareness of biomarker testing.
Teal Wand (Teal Health)
Teal Health’s Teal Wand is the first and only FDA-authorized at-home cervical cancer screening device, enabling women to self-collect samples safely and privately.
Its approval was supported by the SELF-CERV study, which confirmed that self-collected samples using the Teal Wand perform on par with clinician-collected ones — accurately detecting cervical precancer 96% of the time. 94% of participants said they would prefer the Teal Wand if proven accurate.
Wisp Male BV Partner Treatment (Wisp)
Wisp, a women’s telehealth company, launched the first male bacterial vaginosis (BV) partner treatment to reduce reinfection rates in couples. The two-part regimen, combining oral metronidazole and topical clindamycin, is based on new research confirming BV’s potential sexual transmission.
This innovation allows simultaneous treatment for partners, addressing one of the most persistent causes of BV recurrence.
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