Mayo Clinic surgeon-founded startup lands funding at Jacksonville Venture Competition (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) –As six local startups pitched their businesses to investors at this year’s Jacksonville Venture Competition Wednesday afternoon, it was unsurprising that artificial intelligence was a recurring component of many.
But, with an investment of up to $1 million up for grabs, it was a medical device startup founded by a local doctor that won out: Suture Shield.
Created by Dr. Steven Bowers, a Mayo Clinic surgeon and professor of surgery, his company was a solution to a problem Bowers faced during operations: how to more easily manage needles during robotic surgeries, he explained to investors.
“It’s an honor to have this validation by an organized investment community that our company and concept has value,” Bowers told the Business Journal. “I’m glad to hear that other people believe in what we believe — that this will help patient care and drive safety, that’s our first priority.”
Bowers patented a device made from FDA-approved materials to hold needles during a surgery that’s placed into the abdominal cavity, the robot uses the needles, replaces them back on the device and continues on.
“Once used, the needles are all immediately visible and countable throughout the entire procedure,” he said. “Then the device is extracted after the robot is removed, making sure that all needles are always accounted for at all times.”
The exact amount of funding Bowers will receive is dependent on due diligence from investors, the amount he’s seeking and other details relevant to the final terms sheet, explained Chang Robotics CEO Matt Chang, one of the event organizers.
This year’s venture competition happened at Jacksonville’s first DisruptIT Conference, organized as part of Jax Tech Fest. Encompassing day three of the week-long festival celebrating and showcasing the region’s technology ecosystem, the conference featured a variety of panels and exhibits at the Prime F. Osborn II Convention Center.
Five other local startups pitched their case for the investment funds, spanning sectors from financial technology and health care to robotics and athletics.
Organized by Chang, AnuVision Technologies CEO Summer Vyne and 3D Digital President Alan Worley, this is the Jax Tech Fest’s first true year after it ran a pilot last year, Chang said. Happening through Aug. 29, event organizers aim for it to be an annual occurrence.
“The whole idea with having Jax Tech Fest is to create a big tent philosophy, where we pull together all the smaller conferences that we’ve been having in the city into a single week,” said Chang ahead of the event. “That way, we give residents and visitors a great look at the technology scene in Jacksonville.”