You would think that something as vital as a cardiac catheter designed specifically for children would have been on the market years ago. Sad truth is, a lack of financial incentives previously prevented such a device from being produced.

"There aren't many players in the pediatric medical device space because there isn't huge cash-out potential," explains Tim Moran, founder of Cleveland-based nonprofit PediaWorks. The issue, he notes, is simply a matter of market share. Whereas the adult medical device market caters to patients aged 18 to, well, death, the pediatric market stretches only from birth to 18. "And people in that younger age group are, thankfully, relatively healthy."

The out-and-out lack of medical devices designed for young patients often leaves practitioners scrambling for suitable off-label replacements. In fact, there are relatively few devices that are FDA-approved for pediatrics. The associated problems can range from pain and discomfort, as in the case of an ill-fitting airway mask, to matters of life and death, illustrated by the absence of pediatric pacemakers.

Thanks to a new joint venture between PediaWorks and Medikit, a manufacturer of interventional cardiology products headquartered in Japan, Cleveland will serve as new headquarters for PediaCath, the first developer of pediatric catheters.

In addition to the use of its rapid prototyping facilities and top-notch R&D engineers, Medikit is kicking in $500,000 in seed funding. PediaWorks will be providing executive management services and access to a network of pediatric clinical advisors and research partners. The Cleveland Clinic is also involved in the project.

PediaWorks was formed in 2009 as a nonprofit organization to help children through the development of medical devices.

SOURCE: PediaWorks

WRITER: Diane DiPiero

On October 18, venture capitalists, engineers, journalists and tech geeks from around the world will gather in San Francisco for i-stage, a competition in which inventors and developers vie for VIP access to the massive International Consumer Electronics Show in January. For the finalists who will present their creations, it's an opportunity of a lifetime — and not just because of the $50,000 prize. Imagine if the NFL held open tryouts, and the winner got to play in the Super Bowl.

Among the finalists this year is Aaron LeMieux, founder of Cleveland-based Tremont Electric. LeMieux will present the product he's been developing since 2006: the nPower PEG, or personal energy generator. The nPower uses the kinetic energy of your movement — running, walking, or hiking, as LeMieux was when he dreamed up the device — to recharge your cell phone or MP3 player.

LeMieux, a Westlake native, says he's honored to represent Northeast Ohio at the event.

"There are not many consumer electronics companies in Cleveland — I can count them on one hand," he says. So Tremont Electric's presence at the CES is good for the whole region — especially considering that about half of his suppliers are also in Cuyahoga County, and most of the rest are based elsewhere in Ohio.

At i-stage, the nPower's competitors will include a remotely controlled robotic avatar and wireless power transmission devices that will make outlets and cords obsolete. The nPower rivals both, in terms of far-reaching applications of the technology. "We can make this device the size of an automobile," LeMieux says, "we can put this technology into the lake and harvest wave motion."

For now, however, he's focused on keeping up with orders for the nPower and preparing for i-stage. "Nobody wants to fund someone who's trying to boil the ocean, as we say," he quips.



Source: Aaron LeMieux, Tremont Electric
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

Five months after the commercial launch of its medical device, CerviLenz Inc. of Chagrin Falls is ramping up for a national marketing push in the third quarter.

The wand-like CerviLenz measures the vaginal cervical length of pregnant women showing signs of preterm labor. In August, Ob.Gyn. News reported that in a study involving 52 women, CerviLenz was "similar in efficacy" to another widely used test that, unlike a CerviLenz test, requires lab work.

"Immediate and quantifiable measures of cervical length using the CerviLenz probe may be less variable than the most common way of measuring — by digital exam — and speedier than waiting for fetal fibronectin [test] results," according to Ob.Gyn. News.

The device helps reduce the guesswork in treatment: The article notes that only 21-27 percent of women with symptoms of preterm labor will actually deliver prematurely. And, "In asymptomatic women, cervical length shorter than 25 mm has been linked to a sixfold increase in risk for preterm birth."

About 25 hospitals are currently evaluating the product. "The hospital purchasing process is really complicated," with multiple rounds of testing, says Melanie Sweeney, CerviLenz Inc.'s director of marketing. But the company should soon start receiving the feedback it will need for a major sales push.

CerviLenz Inc.'s backers include Cleveland-based JumpStart Inc., North Coast Angel Fund of Mayfield Heights and Chrysalis Ventures, which has a Cleveland office.



Source: CerviLenz Inc.
Writer: Frank W. Lewis

For some, the allure of online shopping is never having to deal with a pushy salesperson. The downside of avoiding a human is how time-consuming it can be to search on your own. Try typing "car" or "blender" or "snarky t-shirt" into Google and see how long it takes to find precisely what you want. So it's not surprising when Envirosell, which studies shoppers' behavior, reports that web surfers are 40 percent more likely to linger on sites with some sort of personalized experience.

That's the trend that iGuiders, based in Beachwood, is now riding.

"We started with the biggest problem," says Alexis Dankovich, director of marketing, "which is that half of all [potential] web sales are lost because people can't find what they're looking for." iGuiders software in designed to head off the frustration by offering users a series of choices that narrow down the options.

A demo for a faucet manufacturer, for example, begins broadly, asking whether you want a one-handled or two-handled model. Then whether you want a high arc or low arc. Then chrome, stainless steel or matte black finish. And so on, right up to the option of buying immediately online or finding the nearest showroom.

Guiders also captures every move shoppers make, so that online sellers can see what grabs attention and what's usually ignored, or whether the online buying process itself is helping or hurting. "Often times," says Dankovich, "companies have no idea why customers make the choices they make."

"Searching online is such an independent process," says CEO Jodi Marchewitz, "but people still need expertise." She likens her company's Guiders to librarians who can lead patrons through the bewildering stacks to the books they really need.

The Northeast Ohio-based Things Remembered gift chain will begin testing a Guider on its web site next month. iGuiders is also working currently with an athletic apparel site and "a major healthcare organization," Marcewitz says.



Source: JumpStartInc.org
Writer: Frank W. Lewis