cleveland/northeast ohio : Innovation + Job News

There's a glimmer of hope for "no-option" cardiovascular patients, thanks to the work being done by a Cleveland-based medical device company.

Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in America. For many sufferers, traditional treatments prove ineffective, leaving the patient with no practical options.

Now, advances in stem cell research and innovations developed by Arteriocyte Medical Systems, Inc., promise to give these so-called "no-option" patients a new lease on life. Arteriocyte is currently testing proprietary adult-derived stem cell therapies for use in surgery. The technology will allow a surgeon to harvest stem cells and platelets from a patient's own body for immediate use.

"Our bodies naturally build all the cells and tissues necessary to repair injury," explains CEO Don Brown. "By harvesting and redelivering therapeutically derived cells, we can affect repair of tissues damaged by poor blood flow."

In April, the company announced the receipt of a $4.99-million award courtesy of Ohio's Third Frontier Research Commercialization Program. Brown says that the state funding will allow the company to conduct efficacy studies of its bedside blood fractionation device for treatment of cardiac disease and also amputation prevention. Research partners within the state include The Cleveland Clinic, The Ohio State University and The University of Toledo.

Brown anticipates that the grant will lead to the generation of 30 new jobs during the next three years, and 50 during the next six. Success of the technologies could lead to $150 million in revenue within six years, he adds.

Source: Don Brown
Writer: Douglas Trattner

What if you could paint your house this fall knowing you wouldn't have to do it again for another 100 years?

That's the prospect facing those who maintain large steel structures like bridges and battleships, thanks to an innovative new coating and application process developed by MesoCoat, Inc., of Euclid.

The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the annual cost of corrosion nationally is $442 billion, or 3.1 percent of the gross domestic product. The estimated cost in Ohio alone is $15 billion.

MesoCoat is addressing that problem by developing a coating to replace the noxious chrome-based applications that have been the mainstay of corrosion control. But here's the best part: According to MesoCoat President and CEO Andrew Sherman, the new coating will last at least 100 years, compared to the current eight to 20 years. It's as cheap as current materials without the hazardous chemicals associated with traditional processes.

The patented coating, called PComP, was initially developed for application within the aerospace industry, extending the life of components such as shafts, actuators and landing gears. Now the company is preparing to launch FarCoat equipment that will match PComP with nanocomposite coatings for application to very large structures such as ships and bridges.

Over the next two years, Sherman expects both the coatings and the application technology to be available for use nationally.

MesoCoat, formed in 2007, now employs six, is looking to fill three open spots and, as its Series A financing is completed, will add another five. "When we transition into the marketplace we will about double," Sherman says.

Source: Andrew Sherman
Writer: Gene Monteith

Like many great stories, this one starts along the Appalachian Trail.

Making his way down the famed footpath, Tremont Electric, LLC owner Aaron LeMieux realized that his movement was generating loads of kinetic energy, evidenced by the annoying abrasions that appeared where his backpack met his hips. If only there was a way to harness that energy, he mused, and apply it to something more useful than blisters.

A few prototypes later, LeMieux had perfected nPower™, a technology that converts simple motion into electricity. The first commercial application of that technology is the PEG (personal energy generator), a lightweight gadget that can power handheld electronic devices. Slipped into a backpack � or purse or briefcase � the PEG charges iPhones, Blackberrys or GPS units via USB cable with every step its owner takes.

While other kinetic energy generators exist, none are as elegant, refined or practical as the PEG. Weighing just nine ounces, the slender cylinder-shaped unit charges mobile devices at the same rate as a wall outlet. Goodbye bulky back-up batteries; goodbye dead devices. 

The PEG was a hit at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and Tremont Electric was included in BusinessWeek's recent feature on "America's Most Promising Startups." Production is expected to begin in October of this year, but already there have been over 1,000 preorders online at $149 each.

Jessica Davis, Tremont's director of sustainability, says the Cleveland-based company hopes to add 16 employees in 2010 and twice that by 2011. And those figures don't take into account secondary and tertiary job growth at suppliers.

Source: Jessica Davis
Writer: Douglas Trattner

At age 60, Aunt Millie seems to have lost a step. Forgotten conversations. An unpaid bill here and there. Her family is beginning to wonder: Does Aunt Millie have Alzheimer's?

Maybe. Maybe not. Modern medicine currently has no way to diagnose the earliest stages of degenerative neurological diseases like Alzheimer's so that their progression can be slowed. Instead, they must wait until tissue damage is confirmed � which current technology can't detect until it's too late.

If William K. McCroskey has his way, that's about to change. The Akron-based founder of FMI Technologies is working on a new tool that can peel images of the brain back like an onion to the molecular level � where the cell-killing processes of Alzheimer's percolate.

One of a growing number of biomedical firms planting roots in Ohio, FMI is perfecting an ultra-high resolution imaging technology that not only detects physical changes in brain tissue but chemical processes that can lead to damage. Buoyed by the success of clinical trials using similar technology for the early detection of breast cancer, FMI is now pursuing a prototype of its ScintiStar™ Neuro system.

Howard Shapiro, a neurologist who heads both the neurology unit and the neurovascular lab at Akron General Medical Center, agrees that McCroskey's technology could be groundbreaking � for Ohioans and the nation.

Shapiro, whose facility is in line to conduct clinical trials using the system, says "this could explode into a whole bunch of possibilities."

Sources: William McCroskey and Howard Shapiro
Writer: Gene Monteith