MEDICAL DEVICES:
Get to know the three finalists for this year’s Most Innovative New Product Awards Medical Devices category!
11Health – ostom-i™ Alert Sensor
The ostom-i™ Alert Sensor from 11 Health and Technologies Limited is a discrete connected medical device alerting patients in real time when their ostomy pouch is at a point where it should be emptied, helping to prevent any unpleasant surprises. The ostom-i™ Alert Sensor uses Bluetooth® wireless technology and the ostom-i app to send data to a HIPAA compliant cloud server. The data can be shared with physicians, clinicians, nurses and family members. 11Health answered a few questions for us about their newest product here:
CONNECT: What’s your biggest achievement to date?
Without doubt it has to be the fact that we are able to contribute to improving the quality of lives of patients every day. 11Health is a patient led company, everything we develop is designed around the end user be that a patient or healthcare professional. Having an impact on someone’s’ life will always be our biggest achievement.
CONNECT: What’s the biggest obstacle or challenge you’ve overcome?
11health started life from a hospital bed with a hack to solve a personal problem. Once it was clear there was a real need for the product then the biggest challenge has been learning the regulatory and insurance landscape. As a company founded in the U.K. our system is very different. Everything was new, terminology very different and going from a country smaller than the state of California can be daunting. However, we learnt very quickly that no question is a stupid one and patients and healthcare professionals face the same challenges wherever they are. Fundamentally healthcare is simply about relationships and we learnt that if you can build those then anything is possible.
CONNECT: What does being a finalist in the Most Innovative New Product Awards mean to you?
It’s huge. It’s recognition that what we are doing is valued by others. We will always be patient led innovation but to have people recognise that your mission and vision is important is fantastic. We feel very humbled and honoured.
Innovation Trauma Care – iTClamp®
Innovative Trauma Care, Inc. (“iTraumaCare®”) is an early stage “first revenue” medical device company focused on developing and marketing point of injury solutions to address preventable death in trauma. Founded and incorporated in Edmonton, Canada, with U.S. subsidiary in San Antonio, Texas, iTraumaCare’s initial product is the iTClamp® Hemorrhage Control System, which is a trauma clamp device that can be applied within seconds of wounding for the temporary management of uncontrolled bleeding in the extremities, axilla, inguinal areas, scalp and neck. The Company’s goal is to capture a substantial share of the global market in this under-exploited area of pre-hospital trauma care. Founder Ian Atkinson answered a few questions about their newest product here:
CONNECT: What’s your biggest achievement to date?
The achievement that means the most to us, as a company, is the number of lives that have been saved using the iTClamp. When our founder, Dr. Dennis Filips, was serving as a trauma surgeon in the Canadian Forces, he recognized a clear unmet need for a device that could quickly stop blood loss. Since it’s commercialization, the iTClamp has saved hundreds of lives and has the potential to save many more.
CONNECT: What’s the biggest obstacle or challenge you’ve overcome?
The biggest challenge we’ve faced and are working to overcome is widespread adoption. Anytime you bring a disruptive product to market it is an uphill climb to educate users and capture market share. It’s been a long process but we are happy to say we’ve had some recent successes and we celebrate each victory.
CONNECT: What does being a finalist in the Most Innovative New Product Awards mean to you?
Being a finalist in this competition is an honor. It gives us an opportunity to showcase a product that is incredibly important to us, saves lives and improves medicine in general. We could not be more thrilled to be a part of this event. The biggest challenge we’ve faced and are working to overcome is widespread adoption. Anytime you bring a disruptive product to market it is an uphill climb to educate users and capture market share. It’s been a long process but we are happy to say we’ve had some recent successes and we celebrate each victory.
Onciomed, Inc. – Gastric Vest System
The Gastric Vest System™ (GVS) is a revolutionary, minimally invasive, implantable device to treat obesity and diabetes, a multi-billion dollar market. GVS procedure imitates the results of traditional weight loss surgeries like the sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass but does not involve stapling, cutting, removing any portion of the stomach, or trans-positioning of the bowel. Founder, Raj Nihalani, answered a few questions about the Gastric Vest System here:
CONNECT: What’s your biggest achievement to date?
Since starting the OUS Phase II Clinical trial, we’ve achieved weight loss results with an average of 86% weight loss at 12 months, and all patients maintain an excellent quality of life. Seeing the patient’s transformation and the smile on their faces is one of the greatest achievements.
CONNECT: What’s the biggest obstacle or challenge you’ve overcome?
Onciomed was started during the recession and because of the economic fluctuation, the future of the company was unpredictable. Yet we pushed forward and by continuously operating as a cost efficient company and keeping the team small, we were able to accomplish most of our timeline goals.
CONNECT: What does being a finalist in the Most Innovative New Product Awards mean to you?
Being a finalist means that our product is being recognized as a new disruptive technology for people struggling with morbid obesity in a worldwide multi-billion dollar market of an unmet need.
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