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When NICO Corporation and FAST Diagnostics needed someone to help develop
new products that could revolutionize patient care, both companies tapped into
resources available through the Rose-Hulman Ventures program at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
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Putting Education Into Practice: Nathan Hazard, a senior
mechanical engineering major, test the control system for the Myriad
device developed by Rose-Hulman Ventures for NICO Corporation, an
Indianapolis-based company.
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It’s a partnership that has paid off dividends for both companies and provides
practical work experiences for nine Rose-Hulman undergraduate students.
Rose-Hulman Ventures helped put NICO on the threshold of creating a major
advancement in the field of neuro and spinal tumor removal. The company is
developing a device called Myriad, which provides surgeons a minimally invasive
method for removing tumor tissue in the central nervous system, including the
brain and spinal cord. The device offers surgeons significantly more control for
delicate tissue shaving and drastically reduces surgical procedure times.
Jim Pearson, NICO’s chief executive officer, stated in a company news release:
“We have a product that we believe will help improve patient care and economics
in the operating room. After numerous cases, the outcomes have surpassed our
expectations and the expectations of leading neurosurgeons.”
Pearson added that NICO’s leadership team has seen success with this clinical
and business combination with Rose-Hulman Ventures before with other tissue
excision products associated with Suros Surgical Systems, Inc.
“We know that the Myriad device can reduce tissue resection time by up to 50
percent,” Pearson said. “We had a surgeon in one of our most recent cases who
reduced his 25-minute resection time to two minutes. Imagine what will happen
when a 3-hour case is reduced to just one hour. That’s progress with undeniable
positive outcomes for everyone involved, and that’s what we know will make our
business successful.”
Myriad has been successfully used in multiple cases at notable institutions like
the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Barrow’s
Neurological Institute in Phoenix, and St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.
NICO is poised to ramp-up for its first commercial sale in the first half of
this year -– thanks to Rose-Hulman Ventures’ assistance. Staff and students
played a vital role in product development, creating and testing a prototype and
preparing for pre-production and production capacity—all while balancing an
entrepreneur's two biggest business concerns: time and money.
"Rose-Hulman has proven itself to be a very cost effective way to accomplish
tasks along the path of product development," Joe Mark, NICO’s co-founder and
vice president of technology, recently told Inside Indiana Business. "They've
also understood and appreciated how important it is to commit to a timeline and
deliver on that timeline. They did, and continue to do, those things in a very
grand way."
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Real-World Experience: Rose-Hulman Ventures Engineering Manager
Brian Dougherty (left) and student assistant Nathan Hazard
collaborate on design details for the hand piece of NICO's Myriad
device.
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Mark credits Rose-Hulman project managers for having the ingenuity and tenacity
to overcome challenges that could have slowed the process of Myriad's
development. In addition to researchers' activities, he says one of the most
rewarding aspects of the project was the involvement of Rose-Hulman students.
Working on the project were seniors Ryan Bormann of Paris, Ill.; Nathan Hazard
of Columbia, Md.; and Phil Ramge of Omaha, Neb.; and junior Lucas Weir of
Martinsville, Ill. The project manager was Brian Dougherty, engineering manager
for Rose-Hulman Ventures.
"The students have not only contributed positively, they've also learned how to
address problems in industry and how to create solutions from those challenges,"
says Mark. "Each one of them has told me it's been a wonderful learning
experience, and that it's engaged them to actually want to be involved in the
medical industry because of the excitement they got out of the project."
NICO is preparing for the commercial sale of Myriad in the first half of this
year -- an accomplishment Mark says would've been impossible without Rose-Hulman's
involvement.
"Our relationship with Rose-Hulman has been a very, very positive experience,"
says Mark. "As long as NICO continues to identify new ideas for unmet needs in
the market, we'll continue to work with them now and in the future."
For Fast Diagnostics, Rose-Hulman Ventures developed a new device that utilizes
biological markers to determine when kidneys are losing function. The markers
are detected by a needle-sized sensor that’s inserted into a peripheral vein of
the patient.
"Kidney injury and acute kidney failure is, unfortunately for humankind, a
growing market. There's been a big race to try and develop a better standard to
determine when kidneys are losing function," FAST Diagnostics Chief Executive
Officer Joe Muldoon recently told Inside Indiana Business. "So far, most of that
effort has been on naturally occurring biomarkers, but nobody's tried to do it
the way we are.
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Inspecting Device: Andrew Boneff, a senior optical engineering
major, inspects an optical component during assembly of a prototype
for Fast Diagnostics.
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"(Rose-Hulman) has some world leaders and experts in the components of the
device that we needed to develop," added Muldoon. "They also have a work style
that fits our work style. We're an entrepreneurial company, so we have to move
forward with a great sense of urgency and efficiency. They are very much in sync
with us in regard to timelines, and they can pull together a team very quickly
to advance device development."
Rose-Hulman Ventures worked with researchers from the Indiana University School
of Medicine to develop the methodology to read the markers introduced into the
bloodstream. Members of the development team were seniors Richard Baker of
Springboro, Ohio; Andrew Boneff of Churubusco, Ind.; Trey German of Friendswood,
Texas; and Andrew Sowders of Greensburg, Ind.; and junior Rufus Cochran of
Anderson, Ind. The project manager was Zhan Chen.
Projects for NICO and Fast Diagnostics have benefitted Rose-Hulman Ventures
project managers and students, according to Dougherty.
“We’ve had tremendous success in partnering our students with technology-based
companies like NICO that provide invaluable real-life experience for our
students,” stated Dougherty in a NICO Corporation news release. “This kind of
experience can open career doors for students and motivate them to stay in our
state where they can invest in a successful career. But more importantly, they
are provided the opportunity to contribute to emerging technology that makes a
real difference in how surgical procedures are performed. That’s pretty exciting
for all of us.”
The value for the companies lies in Rose-Hulman Ventures' abilities to both
deliver prototypes as well as generate talent pipeline for companies of all
sizes and in diverse industries, according to Mitch Landess, Rose-Hulman’s
manager of client programs. The deliverable may be a working prototype ready for
immediate commercialization in areas such as automotive, medical devices (like
NICO and Fast Diagnostics), robotics and software development. Or a prototype
may be in the form of systems testing, process optimization, or automation.
Regardless of the application, Rose-Hulman Ventures specializes in configuring
technology in innovative ways to address specific challenges identified by the
clients.
“Rose-Hulman Ventures successfully collaborates with companies of all sizes -–
start-ups, growth-stage and global corporations,” states Landess. “Our client
base operates locally, regionally and at the national and global levels. The
majority of our clients are located across Indiana. However, we also work with
companies outside Indiana that bring a unique learning experience for our
students.”
To begin a project with Rose-Hulman Ventures, persons can contact Landess at
(812) 244-4027 or
mitch.landess@rhventures.org.
Read a recent Inside Indiana Business story, with audio features, about Rose-Hulman
Ventures' role in helping Indiana companies at
http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/life-sciences.asp?ID=122&Detail=True
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