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Technology Innovation Center startup has reached a major funding goal of $7 million. Medical device company, Retia Medical, moved into the TIC last September. The company has developed a less-invasive cardiac output monitor than is currently on the market that is also able to maintain its accuracy for critically ill patients.
“I strongly believe in what is called the ‘double bottom line,’” says Marc Zemel, Chief executive officer of Retia Medical, “which means focusing on generating superior financial returns and superior returns to society. Medical equipment naturally falls into this category and the cardiovascular field impacts a large swath of society.”
According to Zemel, what makes Retia’s device so innovative is its ability to continue functioning when patients are unstable.
“That is when accuracy is most critical,” Zemel explains. “Over 18 million high-risk surgical patients and ICU patients can benefit from this technology. Recently, the UK heath system estimated that they could save up to 1100 pounds per patient through implementation of this monitoring technology and the optimized treatment protocols that it enables. Not to mention the number of lives it can help save and improved quality of life that it can impact.”
Along with the funding, Retia is currently looking to expand its three-person staff with two additional biomedical signal processing engineers. Zemel says the company is focused on building and proving the product in the clinic making it available to as many people as possible.
“We are extremely grateful for the support of the TIC and the Michigan State community,” says Zemel. “So many people have contributed their time and efforts and we could not have gotten this far without them.”
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