Medtech Innovator 2014 Winner Announced

A group of 10 semi-finalists entered the Medtech Innovator 2014 competition in San Francisco last week.  Then whittling it down, four finalists gave a presentation in front of a live audience who then voted on the winner: Fibralign Corporation out of Union City, California.

Fibralign is developing a unique extra-cellular matrix scaffold with specially designed fibrils oriented in specific 3D orientations, much like the body’s own tissues.  This alters the mechanical response of implanted scaffolds in the body, which recent research is demonstrating has a major impact on the type of tissue that can be engineered.  The company was awarded $125,000 in addition to $25,000 of lab space in the Janssen Labs community.

The competition included the following semi-finalist companies and their fascinating devices:

AventaMed: The previous winner of medtech idol, their disposable device can be used for ear-tube placement in the outpatient setting with minimal training and at a much lower cost.

BeckerSmith Medical: The use of lumbar drains is very common in the ICU setting and requires specially trained doctors and nurses to manage a series of tubes, stopcocks, and pressure monitors in a surprisingly low-tech fashion.  BeckerSmith aims to take some of the guesswork out of these systems by developing an automated lumbar drain management system with computer-based control.

FLi Medical Innovations:  Direct anterior total hip replacement is becoming very popular, but it requires specialized beds and equipment in order to perform the procedure.  FLi has developed the FLOTE, a low-cost alternative to the very expensive operating tables designed for anterior hip replacements.  This device can be attached to current standard operating tables, can be effectively used for the anterior total hip, and is lower cost.

AUM Cardiovascular: A possible alternative to nuclear stress testing as a screening tool for coronary artery disease, CADence is an acoustic sensor that can detect turbulent flow through blocked coronary arteries.  It can be a potentially lower cost, lower risk, fast, and portable screening tool for many coronary artery disease patients.

BrainStemBiometrics: A sensor for intensive care patients to monitor their level of sedation.  This innovative device attaches to the eyelids and detects minute movements of the eye which can be used as a proxy for brainstem function to better control sedation levels.

ChemoFilter: A catheter based device that can facilitate the use of regional chemotherapy.  After a chemotherapeutic agent is delivered to a tumor site, the ChemoFilter device can remove the agent from the blood-stream, decreasing toxicity and side effects.

CystoSure: Currently cystoscopy is performed with a series of metal tubes in a relatively cumbersome and inflexible manner.  CystoSure is looking to streamline the process with their unique device.  Basically it is a custom flexible urinary catheter with a specialized port that allows the insertion of a flexible cystoscope at anytime while the catheter is in place, allowing for flexible, safe and less cumbersome cystoscopic procedures.

LensGen, Inc.: A fascinating technology we have reported on in the past. LensGen’s proprietary lens replacement technology looks to cure the ubiquitous process of age-related near vision loss.  As we age the lens in our eye becomes more rigid, which prevents the stretching needed for accommodation and near vision.  LensGen’s device is a lens replacement that restores this function and allows the natural lens musculature function to return.  This would restore near vision and remove the need for reading glasses.

Tampa Medical Innovations, Inc.: IV placement often leads to some blood leaking during the time after needle removal and IV tubing attachment.  The StatClip looks to solve this problem and decrease blood exposure by utilizing a “clip” that prevents blood from leaking following needle removal.  This allows the placement of the IV without any blood leakage and potential pathogen exposure.

Link: Medtech Innovator 2014…