Houston Health Ventures (HHV) has announced its early March investment in Allotrope Medical, Inc., a Houston-based medical device company bringing to market a novel ureter detection device for minimally invasive surgery. HHV led the investment along with syndication support from the Houston Angel Network.
David Franklin, Managing Director of HHV, comments, “We are very excited to add Allotrope Medical’s hand-held solution for rapid ureter detection during surgical procedures to our portfolio.” Mr. Franklin will join the Board of Directors alongside Donald Gonzales MD, Founder/CMO, Spirox Inc. and Mira Sahney, former SVP and GM of Gynecology and ENT Divisions, Smith & Nephew.
Allotrope Medical is focused on decreasing the rate of injury to the ureters during surgery. With over 3 million operations performed each year in the US alone requiring identification and protection of the ureters, there is a 3.2 billion dollar burden to healthcare systems due to injuries on top of the significant impact such events have on patient lives. Current techniques fall short of effectively addressing this issue, and Allotrope Medical aims to improve the surgical experience for patients, surgeons and staff through its elegant and exciting technology.
Albert Huang MD, Founder and CEO of Allotrope Medical, has trained in world-class institutions including Harvard, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania and the University of Rochester. He has over a decade of industrial design experience combined with tissue engineering and surgical training. Dr. Huang understands the issues facing hospitals and operating room environments, as well as the culture and workflow of these complex spaces. With his expertise, he can address health care problems while ensuring optimum adoption. Dr. Huang states, “Our goal is to increase patient safety and improve outcomes, all while augmenting the operative experience for surgeons around the world.”
The Allotrope Medical device is expected to be commercially available in late 2018.
