Investment Firm Allied Minds to Commercialize Novel Technology from the University of Colorado
06-May-2007
Boston, Massachusetts - Allied Minds, an investment corporation specializing in early stage university business ventures, has teamed with the University of Colorado to establish Illumasonix, LLC, (http://www.illumasonix.com) a start-up company which is developing a non-invasive method to provide quantitative information on complex blood flow in the treatment of vascular disease.
Current diagnosis of cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases utilizes ultrasound and MRI technology, which is limited in its capacity to determine whether disease is progressing or stabilized. Ultrasound provides good temporal resolution but only provides one-dimensional velocity measurement and angular error. MRI phase velocity mapping offers multi-component velocity data and high spatial resolution, but poor temporal resolution. The goal of Illumasonix is to combine the advantages of MRI with the temporal resolution and ease-of-use of ultrasound.
Dr. Robin Shandas, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder and of Pediatrics and Cardiology at the University of Colorado, Denver and Health Sciences Center, is developing a system which uses ultrasound and FDA approved microbubbles to track blood flow. This process will easily provide real-time assessment of blood flow and detect blockages. "Our technology is intended to create a new high resolution ultrasound procedure to better detect vascular disease," said Dr. Shandas.
Millions are affected by cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases annually. Stroke is the third leading cause of death and disability in the US and 25% of strokes are caused by carotid artery disease. "We have the opportunity to greatly improve diagnostic measures and therefore save lives," says Allied Minds CEO, Chris Silva.
Tom Smerdon, Director of New Business Development at the University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office, added, "We are excited about this new agreement between the University of Colorado and Allied Minds. We see it as an effective way to commercialize Dr. Shandas' ultrasound scanning technology."
About Allied Minds, Inc.
Allied Mindsis a seed investment company creating partnerships with select universities to fund corporate spin-offs resulting from successful early stage technology research. By providing corporate development support as well as funding, Allied Minds aims to guide early stage companies to commercial success, thereby generating value for all stakeholders. For additional information, logon to http://www.alliedminds.com.
About the Technology Transfer Office
The CU Technology Transfer Office pursues, protects, packages, and licenses to business the intellectual property generated from research at CU. The TTO provides assistance to faculty, staff, and students, as well as to businesses looking to license or invest in CU technology. For more information about technology transfer at CU, visit http://www.cu.edu/techtransfer.
About the University of Colorado
The University of Colorado is a three-campus system with campuses in Boulder and Colorado Springs, and a Denver and Health Sciences Center campus located in downtown Denver and at the former Fitzsimons Army Base in Aurora. CU is a premier teaching and research university, ranked sixth among public institutions in federal research expenditures by the National Science Foundation. Academic prestige is marked by CU's four Nobel laureates, seven Mac Arthur "genius" Fellows, 17 astronauts, 19 Rhodes Scholars and CU- Boulder's ranking of 11th best public university in the world in The Economist. For further information, please visit http://www.cu.edu.
For Additional Information Contact;
Chris Silva, CEO
Allied Minds, Inc.
(781) 353-6404
chris.silva@alliedminds.com
