Houston Chronicle -- Houston is known for energy, but the city is also building a budding technology sector. The world’s oil capital is home to scores of hopeful entrepreneurs developing new websites, software, medical devices, clean technologies and other innovations. Research at the Texas Medical Center, NASA, local universities and in the energy industry, for example, has given birth to new ventures. Here’s one of an occasional set of snapshots of local tech startups. Time will tell if they take off. Elevator pitch: Creating an air field around a surgical site to prevent infection.
- The idea: Surgical infections can mean an additional $40,000 to $100,000 in health care costs, according to Nimbic Systems. The company says its product, Air Barrier System, helps create a field of clean air contoured to the body to block bacteria from entering the surgery site. A nozzle connected to an air filter sits on the patient’s body and creates a vacuum of clean air when turned on. The company says Clinical trials at Texas Orthopedic Hospital have shown the device reduces bacteria by more than 84 percent.
- Users: A little more than 50 hip replacement and spinal surgery patients have been through clinical trials with the product. The company hopes to have FDA approval by January.
- The brains: Founder and CEO Sean Self previously served as president of Lone Star Medical, another medical company that sold urology-related devices. He sold that company in 2006.
- The competition: UV light and air filtration systems built into some surgical rooms.
- The money: The company has already raised $1.9 million from angel investors and is looking to raise $1.5 million more, Self said. Eventually, he hopes to sell the company to a larger one that can distribute the system more widely.
Emit Corp.
- Elevator pitch: A portable device that warms fluids, such as blood, that are transfused to patients suffering from hypothermia.
- The idea: When the body goes into hypothermia after an accident or some other trauma, fluids usually need to be warmed before they are infused to bring the body’s temperature back to normal. Emit Corp. says its HypothermX device does just that, quickly. The device attaches to a bag of blood, saline or other fluid, which is warmed as it passes through an aluminum heat exchanger. The exchanger heats up as a butane blend and catalyst react.
- Users: Zero. The company hopes to launch the product in a few months, pending regulatory approval.
- The brains: CEO Jeff Sheldon previously founded and headed Houston-based IDev Technologies, which also developed medical devices. He is also CEO of another local startup, Houston Medical Robotics. The technology was developed by University of Texas Health Science doctors Charles Cox, Jr. and Brijesh Gill.
- The competition: GE Healthcare has a fluid warmer called enFlow on the market, and Dallas-based Estill Medical Technologies sells one called Thermal Angel.
- The money: Sheldon’s venture fund and development company CitareTx, has invested $1.8 million. Before the company formed in 2009, the technology was developed using about $3 million in government grants.
Rebellion Photonics
- Elevator pitch: A camera that sees the chemical composition of an object.
- The idea: Want to know what something’s made of? That usually means taking a sample and running tests, which could take days. Rebellion Photonics says its imaging technology can return results instantly. The camera uses hyperspectral imaging, meaning it sees both visible light as well as ultraviolet to infrared. The company currently sells to researchers using the technology to observe chemical reactions in cells, but is also targeting the security market and energy companies that want to detect leaks at refineries and oil rigs more quickly.
- Users: The company has made two sales so far. The system sells for $105,000 when sold to researchers.
- The brains: Prior to becoming CEO, Allison Lami was an MBA student at Rice University. The technology was licensed from Rice.
- The competition: While hyperspectral imaging is nothing new, Rebellion Photonics claims its technology is faster — allowing it to produce video — and more portable.
- The money: The company has a $100,000 angel investment from the Greater Houston Partnership and recently received $50,000 from a Houston Technology Center award. It hopes to raise $2.5 million in venture capital in the spring.
