The STaR Centre has a successful track record in surgical translation and commercialization. With 4 spin-out companies to date, there are several others in advanced stages of gestation. Watch this space.
The Insides Company is a medical device company that manufactures therapeutic chyme reinfusion solutions for patients recovering from colorectal surgery and complex intestinal diseases, including intestinal failure. Founded in 2017, The Insides Company is a spin-out from the University of Auckland, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, with support from UniServices and the MedTech CoRE. The Insides Company’s first product, The InsidesTM System, is commercially available in Europe, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand after being CE marked, and registered with MedSafe. CEO is Garth Sutherland.
Alimetry is a new spin-out company from the Surgical Engineering Laboratory and was founded in 2019. It has developed an ‘ECG’ of the stomach, since the stomach’s motility is governed by electrical activity, as in the heart. An electrode array is placed on the upper abdomen for ‘body surface gastric mapping’. Having attracted significant investment, Alimetry is now in market, offering a new tool for understanding a range of functional gastric disorders, and opening up the way to guided treatment. CEO is Greg O’Grady.
Apercure Surgical Ltd was founded in 2019 off the back of MBIE funding. The first product, currently in the final stages of protoyping, is a drain and catheter retention device that is secure, comfortable, easy to use and allows wound management. After clinical validation studies, the intention is to enter the interventional radiology market and then the surgical market.
In 2023 Apercure secured significant investment, and in 2024 appointed a CEO. Clinical trials are next.
Elbaware Ltd was founded at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. It developed a comfortable, low-cost, smart elbow sleeve that uses a vibration alert to warn of an imminent face-touching event. This haptic feedback is triggered by elbow movement to increase awareness and thereby promote a change in behaviour. Reducing the frequency of face touching will decrease the risk of hand-to-face viral transmission. The innovation uses a combination of proximity sensing and software algorithms to define a specific ‘non-touch’ zone. The product addresses the only public health measure (‘face touching’) for which a solution is not currently available. Because it contributes to prevention and control of infection transmission, it is best considered an addition to personal protective equipment (PPE) for those at risk. This includes all those in high