University of Chicago startup scores $1M to help commercialize interventional radiology product
Summary
Flow Medical has scored a $1 million investment from a device manufacturer to help the University of Chicago startup commercialize its interventional radiology product, leaders announced Thursday.Co-founded by Osmanuddin Ahmed, MD, an associate professor of radiology, the company is creating a multi-function catheter to help diagnose and treat venous thromboembolic disease. Flow Medical plans to use the funds for development and testing ahead of applying for 510(k) clearance from the U.S. FDA, according to a June 15 announcement from the university.A year ago, we had the theory that if we could push device engineering to the edge of whats possible, then physicians, investors, and manufacturers would want to partner with us, said Kathleen McGing, MBA, chief business officer, who started working with Flow Medical as a business development fellow through the schools Polsky Compass deep tech accelerator. Radiologist Ahmed and colleagues were able to build a prototype with support from a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) phase 1 grant.Ahmed and colleague Jonathan Paul, an associate professor of medicine, created Flow Medical after facing dissatisfaction with the currently available devices for treating pulmonary embolism. Flow Medical said its initial product will be the first catheter-directed thrombolytic catheter designed specifically for use in the pulmonary arteries.Up to now, catheters originally designed for other purposessuch as small vessel arterial thrombolysishave been used in much larger pulmonary arteries, for blood clots that are typically more organized, larger, and more diffuse, Ahmed said in a March 2022 news item from the university. We have incorporated several features that we feel will make the procedure simpler to perform, more effective, and with more precision.