Wayne O. Carter, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, will be one of the mentors working with startups participating with the Sprint Accelerator for Mobile Health, powered by Techstars.

Strong momentum among Kansas City’s life sciences companies could provide a tremendous advantage for mobile health startups.

That’s how Wayne Carter sees it.

Carter, president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, said he’s eager to see what might emerge when startups working with the Sprint Accelerator for mobile health tap into the region’s resources.

“There are more and more assets here all the time,” Carter said. “We have a lot of essential components in the area that can help startups take off.”

The greater Kansas City area is home to large companies and fledgling high-tech ventures, bustling research centers, investors and other life sciences experts.

An impressive growth streak emerged when Carter’s organization took its most recent headcount of life sciences firms in the area.

The institute tallied 240 life sciences companies employing 22,000 to 24,000 people. That’s 17 percent growth in the number of companies since 2009 and a 21 percent increase in employment.

“There has been a lot of growth in the life sciences in the greater Kansas City area,” Carter said. “We are really excited about that.”

Before joining the life sciences institute, Carter guided new product discoveries and commercialization for Hill’s Pet Nutrition in Topeka, Kan. He also previously served as an executive director of Global Clinical Technology for Pfizer Human Health in Groton, Conn.

The largest sectors in the Kansas City region’s life sciences industry are biotechnology research and testing, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and software. These all are fields that could benefit tremendously from mobile health technology, Carter said.

Mobile health can monitor a patient in more reliable and detailed ways. This offers the promise, Carter said, of equipping physicians with objective data that can help them make better care decisions.

Researchers developing new drugs also can gain keen insight gathered from monitoring apps rather than having to rely solely on patients reporting on how they are feeling.

“There is so much opportunity for mobile health applications,” Carter said. “I believe it will revolutionize what we are doing in the drug development industry.”

Do you have a mobile health startup? Gain the chance to work with experts such as Carter by applying for the Sprint Accelerator for Mobile Health, powered by Techstars. The application deadline is Jan. 6.