NDI Medical is taking a big step into the future of implantable surgical devices.
With its new FDA approval in-hand, the Beachwood-based firm is taking its newest product to market.
NDI Medicals' neurostimulation device will be implanted next month into the shoulder of a patient to alleviate chronic shoulder pain. Robert Strother, NDI Medical's vice president of engineering and chief technology officer, called implantable medical devices "an area of explosive growth."
As a member of the pacemaker family, the neurostimulation device � about the size of a silver dollar � works where conventional pharmacology stops short.
"Often, the solution is you take pill, it goes in the blood and goes everywhere. But sometimes there are side effects," he says. "With the device, if it has any problems it's going to be limited to where the device is."
The future, Strother says, is in the "deep brain" market. Products he says that could treat a number of maladies, ranging from Parkinson's disease to depression. "Our goal is to continue to use the technology and come up with other applications to provide alternatives to what else is out there."
Since its founding in 2002, the incubation firm has attracted over $17 million in grants (including two from the Third Frontier and exited its first venture capital round � returning over 150 times the original investment back to shareholders. In 2008, the company sold its first product � a bladder pacing device called MedStim � to medical device giant Medtronic in Minneapolis for $42 million.
There are 25 employees at NDI including entrepreneurs, scientists and physician advisors. Strother says the company has plans to grow.
Source: Robert Strother, NDIWriter: Colin McEwen