Christina Hernandez Sherwood

Angel investors are wealthy individuals who make early-stage investments in and provide advice to startups. In a slump following the recession, angel investment rebounded in 2011 with angels investing $22 billion in entrepreneurs.

Anatomage, which launched in 2004 in San Jose, is an anatomy image software company specializing in 3D medical technology. In the almost-decade since starting the venture, CEO Jack Choi said he's learned much about managing tight finances and knowing when to jump in and when to throw in the towel.

Looking for early-stage financing for your life science or digital health startup? Crowdfunding, in which individuals and teams can raise money over the Internet from dozens or thousands of sources in small amounts, has become a popular financing tool.

Lisa Earnhardt, president and CEO of Intersect ENT, shares tips on finding your customer, working with physicians, and collaborating with the FDA.

At the MedTech Investing Conference in Minneapolis last week, two sessions focused specifically on med tech funding: from early- and late-stage investing to emerging funding sources available to private companies.

At the MedTech Investing Conference in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health outlined the administration's key priorities related to the med tech industry.

Because significant funding is needed to develop new, innovative life science and digital health products and tools, fewer ideas are making the leap from research institutions to product development teams. This clash between the short-term, earnings-driven needs of the medical marketplace and the risky, lengthy, and capital-intensive process of bringing medical ideas to fruition is a major challenge facing modern medicine.

Medical devices have outperformed most other sectors in the venture industry from 2001 to last year. But a capital crunch remains.

"Med tech is alive and well, despite what we hear out there," Kevin Wasserstein, founder and principal at MentorCatalyst, told the attendees of today's MedTech Investing Conference.

Dinu Sen, CEO of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, offers tips on finding need in the sector, hiring, and determining whether working with an accelerator is right for your company.