Press Room >> 2010 Press Releases

For Immediate Release
June 23, 2010

OHIO THIRD FRONTIER AWARDS SUPPORT
THE STATE'S GROWING MEDICAL IMAGING INDUSTRY

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Third Frontier Commission today recommended more than $8.9 million in funding through the Ohio Third Frontier Medical Imaging Program. The companies receiving awards are expected to leverage nearly $16 million of additional investment in Ohio. The awards are contingent upon State Controlling Board approval.

The Ohio Third Frontier Medical Imaging Program supports research and development to help Ohio companies continue to make progress toward commercializing medical imaging related products for future applications. The medical imaging industry includes technology fields which have a long history of manufacturing in Ohio.

"These Ohio Third Frontier investments will encourage the development and manufacturing of state-of-the-art imaging technology in Ohio," said Governor Ted Strickland. "The Ohio Third Frontier is further positioning the state as a global leader in the medical imaging field."

"Some of the best and brightest minds in the world are currently working in Ohio to better improve our nation's health care, and medical imaging technology is key to that work," said Eric Fingerhut, Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents and Chairman of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission. "The Ohio Third Frontier is investing in these projects to not only assist the economic development of the medical imaging field, but also keep top talent living and working in the state."

The Ohio Third Frontier Medical Imaging Program accelerates the development and growth of the medical imaging industry and its supply chain in Ohio. It is helping those organizations with near-term specific commercial objectives with new products or technologies. The program supports the adaption or modification of existing devices or components in order to address one or more issues, including cost, resolution quality, or acquisition time; addresses technical and commercialization barriers; or demonstrates market readiness.

For example, Ohio Third Frontier awarded $17 million to The Ohio State University in collaboration with Philips to establish the Wright Center in Biomedical Imaging. The partnership developed the Philips Ultra-high field MRI, retaining Philips as an anchor to the medical imaging cluster in Ohio. Since 2003, more than 400 jobs have been created or retained through this investment and the Center has assisted further job creation in the medical imaging industry by facilitating and driving partnerships between the industry and higher education, providing direct support to new companies developing innovative technologies that save lives.

"Ohio has a rich history on innovation and manufacturing and I am pleased to see this spirit continue through today's investments in medical imaging," said Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director of the Ohio Department of Development and member of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission. "Our grant recipients, with help from the Ohio Third Frontier, are making a huge difference in their communities, in the lives of Ohioans, the nation, and even the world through their important work."

Fiscal Year 2010 Ohio Third Frontier Medical Imaging Program Awards

CardioInsight Technologies, Inc., located in City of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with University Hospitals Case Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Battelle Memorial Institute, Le Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux, Michel Haissaguerre, MD, and Draper Triangle Ventures, was awarded $1 million for The Atlas Electrocardiographic Mapping System project. The project will commercialize a breakthrough technology for the imaging of electrical activity on the surface of the heart. Advanced therapies such as atrial fibrillation ablations and cardiac resynchronization therapy require detailed mapping of the electrical activity of the heart. The Atlas system provides more detail in a much shorter time than any currently available technology.

EXCMR, Ltd., located in City of Columbus (Franklin County), in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Christ Hospital, The Ohio State University, Quality Electrodynamics, Siemens Medical Solutions, Heart Imaging Technologies, and Zukun Plan, was awarded $1,424,694 for its In-State Multi-Center Evaluation of Treadmill Exercise Stress Cardiac Magnetic Resonance project. The project will support clinical testing and refinement of technology to improve cardiac magnetic resonance imaging under stress conditions. Cardiac stress induced by exercise instead of drugs is a more realistic test in cardiac imaging. The advanced hydraulic treadmill without an electric motor and steel parts – which interfere with the MRI – will be tested in clinical settings.

GE Healthcare Technologies, located in the City of Aurora (Portage County), in collaboration with Cincinnati Children's Medical Center and the Davis Heart and Lung Institute of The Ohio State University, was awarded $1 million for its MRI Imaging and Devices for Pediatric Populations project. The project will develop new imaging coils for use with pediatric patients. Use of coils designed for adults result in poor resolution or inability in image small structures in children. The development of pediatric coils will improve imaging results and open new markets for the company.

InfraRed Imaging Systems, Inc., located in the City of Eastlake (Lake County), in collaboration with Astro Manufacturing & Design, United Medical Products, and Entrotech, was awarded $812,000 for its Completion and Commercialization and Relocation of Manufacturing to Ohio of the INRIS VascularViewer Product Portfolio project. The project will move engineering and manufacturing of the VascularViewer to Ohio from California. The technology allows the imaging of the peripheral vascular structure, enabling doctors and nurses to more efficiently and accurately insert needles and catheters, reducing the number of "sticks" and peripheral vascular access failures.

Neoprobe Corporation, located in the City of Dublin (Franklin County), in collaboration with Cardinal Health, STATKING Consulting, Phylogeny, Inc., and Integrated BioScience Solutions, was awarded $1 million for its Phase III Clinical Study Supporting Expanded FDA Claims for Lymphoseek, A Medical Imaging Agent for Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping in Breast Cancer, Melanoma, and Head and Neck Cancer project. The project will accelerate the clinical study of the radiopharmaceutical imaging agent Lymphoseek, which is used to improve the detection of cancer in lymph nodes.

Philips Healthcare, located in the City of Highland Heights (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, was awarded $999,175 for its PET/CT Scanner Optimized for Quantitative Myocardial Blood Flow project. The project will develop a PET/CT solution to measure the absolute amount of blood flow to the heart, a critical piece of diagnostic information that is very difficult to measure directly. The project will involve technology upgrades to several systems of existing scanners to make these measurements possible. The optimized system will expand the potential market for the Philips PET/CT scanners, which are manufactured in Ohio.

The Ohio State University, located in the City of Columbus (Franklin County), in collaboration with Philips Healthcare, was awarded $1,740,000 for its Multi-transmit Platform Technology for High and Ultra-high Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging project. The project will develop technology to improve the image quality and resolution of ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging. The multi-transmit technology will help compensate for the perturbation caused by placing a person in the magnetic field. The improved image quality and resolution will catalyze the more rapid adaptation of higher field MRI instruments.

Quality Electrodynamics, LLC, located in Mayfield Village (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with Case Western Reserve University and Siemens Healthcare, was awarded $1 million for its 7-Tesla High Density MRI Radio Frequency Coil Development & Commercialization project. The project will develop state-of-the-art high multi-channel RF coils for knee and breast imaging optimized for 7-Tesla instruments. The improved image quality from these coils will help drive the clinical adaptation of the next- generation 7-Tesla MRI instruments.

For more information about Ohio Third Frontier, please visit www.OhioThirdFrontier.com.

Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to create new technology-based products, companies, industries, and jobs, has commercialized or created more than 630 companies, attracted more than $4.76 billion in private investment to Ohio, and has a nearly 9:1 return on investment since its inception.

Working with our partners across business, state and local governments, academia, and the nonprofit sector, the Ohio Department of Development works to attract, create, grow, and retain businesses through competitive incentives and targeted investments. Engaged every day in marketing, innovating, investing, and collaborating, the Ohio Department of Development works at the speed of business to accelerate and support the teamwork that is absolutely necessary for success by providing financial, informational, and technical assistance to those making an investment in Ohio's future.

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Media Contact: Katie Sabatino at (614) 466-6212
or the Communications and Marketing Office at (614) 466-2609