Dedicated university research led to startup and a big payoff | Ohio boosts tech transfer efforts

Dedicated university research led to startup and a big payoff

CLEVELAND, OH–Though it was a few years in the making, the story of a startup spun out of Case Western Reserve University could be the poster child of how dedicated university research led to life-saving tech and a big payoff. CardioInsight Technologies was a company founded in 2005 by Dr. Charu Ramanathan, based on research at the Cleveland-based school. The company’s Ecvue system allows health professionals to create images of the heart’s electrical activity by using electrical data from the body’s surface and combining it with 3-D anatomical data. The company was eventually acquired by Medtronic for $100 million.

UW-Madison collaborates with DoD on environmental issues

MADISON, WI–The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies will serve as campus lead in a two-year collaboration between the school and the U.S. Department of Defense on environmental-related issues. Established in 1970 and renamed in 2002 for U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson (WI), the founder of Earth Day, the Nelson Institute’s expertise stretches from the physical and social sciences to engineering, medicine and the arts and humanities.

Ohio boosts tech transfer efforts

OHIO–The Ohio I.P. Promise is an initiative, developed in consultation with the Intra-University Council of Ohio, that provides resources for tech transfer. The initiative offers a step-by-step process for how entrepreneurs can go through the commercialization process with their research or invention. It also offers Standard Option and License Agreement templates so faculty and student innovators know the terms of their commercialization before even starting to engage in the process. You can read about some of the 10 most promising technologies at the University of Cincinnati since the school launched the Ohio I.P. Promise.

Supporting the North Carolina entrepreneurial community

RALEIGH, NC–North Carolina State University is a leader in innovation research commercialization. As part of that, the school’s Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN) supports the global NC State entrepreneurial community with an angel investing platform and co-investment fund. The group announced its collaboration with Harbright Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Cary, North Carolina, to strengthen that support. As Harbright joins WIN, the investor network’s potential portfolio bandwidth will significantly increase.