BGU and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center announce the formation of Xact Medical, a new company that will seek to commercialize the Fast Intelligent Needle Delivery (FIND) system (pictured above).
The FIND system uses robotics and ultrasound to guide and insert a needle into a patient’s body. This is particularly significant for children, whose vascular systems are so small and where precision can be critical. FIND will enhance clinician capabilities for precise, quick and convenient placement of a needle point that significantly improves the odds of successful vascular access on the first try.
"The fact that up to a third of central placement attempts in kids fail on the first try is unacceptable to us," says Daniel von Allmen, M.D., surgeon-in-chief at Cincinnati Children's. "This technology can drastically reduce patient discomfort and procedure time while improving outcomes for children and adults."
The technology, invented and developed through a collaboration between Cincinnati Children's and BGU, began with a back-of-the-napkin sketch in 2012 and quickly progressed from an idea to a prototype. Dr. von Allmen and Prof. Hugo Guterman, of BGU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and technical advisor for Xact Medical, leveraged their combined clinical, research and engineering expertise to identify an unmet need and create a solution that is now the backbone of Xact Medical.
"The launch of Xact Medical and the development of this technology is a great testament to our partnership with Cincinnati Children's leading to healthcare advances," says Netta Cohen, chief executive officer of BGN Technologies, BGU's technology transfer company. "We believe Xact is the first of many high-impact innovations to emerge from this collaboration."
Xact Medical will initially focus on central line placements in pediatric and adult patients with plans to expand into additional markets, such as biopsy. Immediate next steps for the company include further testing and market research of its prototype, working toward approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"I believe this technology has significant potential to improve patient outcomes while reducing costs to the healthcare system," says Andrew Cothrel, chief executive officer of Xact. "We are confident that with the institutional and financial support currently in place, Xact can meet its short- and mid-term goals as we move toward commercialization."
Initial investors in Xact Medical include Cincinnati Children's and CincyTech.
Above: Andrew Cothrel, CEO, Xact Medical and Daniel von Allmen, MD, at Cincinnati Children's
