Most medical devices are developed in silos, which is partly why only about 5% of them are commercialized, says John Nottingham, co-president of Nottingham Spirk.
"While the world has gone specialized, we’ve done the opposite," Nottingham said. "We are vertically integrated. Our designers talk to engineers who are on the same team," which also includes market researchers, prototypers and machinists, he said.
"The same team that starts with the proof of concept (device) commercializes it," Nottingham said.
Often, Nottingham Spirk provides insights, industrial design, engineering, prototyping, sourcing and manufacturing services for each medical device it develops and takes an investment stake in the technology or starts a company around it.
"We have several medical device startups," Nottingham said.
Here are other Nottingham Spirk stories in this series:
- NYC investor partners with Nottingham Spirk on telehealth technologies: Through its recently raised $75 million telehealth fund, Swiftarc Ventures is working with Cleveland design collaborative Nottingham Spirk to support the next wave of disruptive technologies to improve health care coverage, increase access and lower costs.
- Nottingham Spirk's 'vertical innovation' worth millions to medical device industry: It's not that scientist- or physician-inventors don't think about how patients could interface with their products, but the Cleveland design collaborative has developed a knack for tapping into the minds of consumers.
Here are some of Nottingham Spirk's medical devices:
CardioInsight
- Owner: Medtronic.
- Technology: Non-invasive mapping system that collects chest ECG signals and combines them with CT scan data to produce and display 3-D cardiac maps.
Discover SoftVue
- Owner: Delphinus Medical Technologies.
- Technology: Ultrasound system used with mammography for cancer screening in women with dense breasts.
Pro-2-Cool
- Owner: TecTraum.
- Technology: non-invasive cooling therapy device designed to reduce the severity of concussion symptoms and allow patients to return to their pre-injury baseline sooner.
Aura
- Owner: Sterifre Medical.
- Technology: Believed to be the first registered, automated, point-of-care technology that uses hydrogen peroxide to quickly disinfect non-critical medical and other devices.
ClotChip
- Owner: XaTek.
- Technology: Portable, point-of-care device that provides a detailed diagnostic evaluation of a patient’s blood-clotting process.
