On September 18-19, we joined fellow founders, urologists, investors, and industry mentors at the American Urological Association (AUA) headquarters in Linthicum, Maryland, for the 2026 AUA Innovation Nexus Boot Camp. The two days brought together 28 startups working across urologic care, from at-home monitoring and molecular diagnostics to surgical tools and cancer treatment.

Soundable Health came to introduce proudP, our smartphone-based at-home urine flow test, and to learn from people who have spent their careers bringing new tools into clinical practice. We left with thoughtful challenges, practical advice, and a long list of innovators whose work deserves a closer look.

What happened at the AUA Innovation Nexus Boot Camp?

We presented proudP in a two-minute introduction and a longer six-minute pitch, then joined small-group mentoring, industry workshops, strategic conversations, and panel discussions. The Boot Camp agenda covered the questions that shape whether an idea can reach patients: clinical evidence, reimbursement, regulatory strategy, commercialization, funding, and partnerships.

Our pitch looked at where proudP is today and where we hope it can go. More than 58,000 people have used proudP for 610,000+ at-home uroflow tests, and 140+ urologists use or recommend it. We described an opportunity to move upstream: beyond the approximately 300,000 patients undergoing BPH procedures toward a much broader population of 30 million men with urinary symptoms. The goal is to help people see changes in their flow earlier and give clinicians useful measurements beyond a single office visit.

Meet the 2026 AUA Innovation Nexus Boot Camp startups

The AUA’s Boot Camp roster includes the following 28 companies. These are brief descriptions of the problems and technologies each company publicly describes, grouped so readers can explore areas of interest. Products under development should not be read as approved or available treatments.

Bladder health, pelvic health, and care beyond the clinic

• Arche Biotech is developing clip-on devices and a connected platform for continuous, objective fluid monitoring, including urine output.

• Arcus Medical is developing Tissue Lifting and Tensioning, a minimally invasive, office-based approach to pelvic organ prolapse.

• Augment Health is developing a system to gather bladder pressure data outside conventional testing appointments for people with bladder dysfunction.

• BeCapio is developing a noninvasive device-based approach to fecal incontinence. Its device remains in research and development.

• Clinova Solutions provides virtual care focused on recurrent urinary and vaginal symptoms, including recurrent UTIs.

• Lumenate Medical is developing a catheter-based cystoscopy imaging system intended to let trained community providers collect images for remote urologist review. Its device is under development.

• Soundable Health develops proudP, which estimates urine flow using a smartphone recording so people can test at home and follow results over time.

• Zeteo Health develops AI tools intended to help patients understand their care and help clinicians respond with relevant patient context and clinical information.

Urologic cancer: detection, treatment, and surgical guidance

• Antelope Surgical Solutions is developing cancer-targeting agents designed to help surgeons see tumor tissue and margins during an operation.

• CiRG Labs develops software-based healthcare tools, including work on monitoring pathways for patients with prostate and kidney cancer.

• Danae Urogenomics is developing urine-based microRNA biomarker tests for urologic cancer diagnosis and monitoring.

• Hologenomix develops a platform to extract cell-free DNA from urine for liquid-biopsy research and diagnostic development.

• ImmunoPDT is studying an investigational photodynamic approach to early-stage prostate cancer that combines a drug with targeted light delivery.

• Optheras is developing an investigational laser platform for low-grade, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer in a procedure-room setting.

• Probentis is developing an investigational optical probe intended to assess tissue at the surgical margin during prostate cancer surgery.

Procedures, surgical tools, and training

• Aulea Medical is developing a single-use endoscopic resection platform and related fluid-control equipment for urologic procedures.

• BioBolt Medical develops devices for surgical access, including BioPAD, a device for controlled abdominal entry.

• MacGregor Picket Urologics participated in Boot Camp. Product description to confirm with the company before publication.

• Multiphze develops an enclosed bladder-irrigation system intended for management of bleeding and clots after urologic surgery.

• Neurovascular Research and Design is developing automated monitoring of neurological and vascular structures during high-risk surgery.

• Polimerbio is developing a biodegradable stent concept for urethral stricture.

• Puray is developing light-based technology intended to reduce infection risks associated with medical tubing, including catheters.

• Resectus Medical develops the Enhanced Prostatic Resection(EPR) system using a multi electrode architecture to increase tissue removal per pass while maintaining visualization and compatibility with existing TURP instrumentation.

• SurgicalEd VR develops virtual-reality and haptic simulation for teaching surgical skills.

Patient education, reproductive health, and other emerging ideas

• Proventis is developing a minimally invasive, hormone-free approach to long-term male contraception.

• SurgeXplain develops an AI-supported patient companion for education before a visit and support throughout the care journey.

• Next Gen Hygiene develops an anatomically-conforming, self-adhering, auto-reflexive, customizable sleeve worn directly on the male anatomy.

• Tumorboard.ai develops the TIDES summarizing critical clinical findings rapidly and accurately.

What we took away

The most useful part of Boot Camp was the willingness of experienced people to challenge assumptions and share what they have learned. We came to talk about proudP, but we also learned from teams tackling very different parts of urologic care. Across the conversations, a common question kept coming up: How does a promising tool become something clinicians can confidently use and patients can actually access?

As as our awesome CEO, Catherine J. Song, wrote on her LinkedIn after the event, two days here could save a founder two years of wandering. We are grateful to the AUA team, the mentors who gave their time so generously, and the fellow founders and operators who made the discussions so worthwhile. We look forward to seeing how this cohort’s ideas develop, and to continuing the conversation about bringing useful urine flow information closer to everyday care.

Company summaries reflect publicly available descriptions at the time of writing. This article is an overview of emerging work, not an endorsement or a statement that a device is approved or clinically available.