HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Stevens Institute of Technology and Connecticut Innovations (CI), the states quasi-public authority responsible for technology investing and innovation development, today announced that they had completed an agreement for a seed-stage investment of $500,000 in Stevens Proof of Concept Inc. (SPOC), a Technogenesis Company founded at Stevens Institute of Technology. CI made this investment through its Connecticut BioSeed Fund.
SPOC was formed in July 2005 at Stevens by Vice President Helena S. Wisniewski in the Office of University Research and Enterprise Development, along with Dr. Norman Marcus, a leader in pain management, and a team of Stevens undergraduate students in biomedical engineering. SPOC has developed a proprietary point-of-care medical diagnostic system, consisting of a medical device and methodology that pinpoint the specific myofascial (muscle) trigger points causing pain. The patent pending device is the first use of electroneural stimulation for diagnostic purposes.
SPOCs diagnostic system will benefit patients by helping to eliminate treatments that prove to be ineffective, such as surgical procedures, and by allowing physicians to locate and treat more effectively muscles that generate pain.
Since approximately 100 million people in the United States suffer from chronic pain and approximately 80 percent of Americans suffer from some form of pain in their lifetime, the potential market for such a system is enormous.
"SPOCs diagnostic device is disruptive it will revolutionize neck and back pain diagnosis and treatment practices," said Dr. Wisniewski, who launched SPOC and serves as a member of the board. Wisniewski added, "We are very pleased to enter into a relationship with CI, an organization committed to commercializing technologies for the public good, which is aligned with Stevens Technogenesis paradigm."
SPOCs CEO, Dr. Vikki Hazelwood, said, "The entrepreneurial environment within Ste
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Contact: Patrick A. Berzinski
pberzins@stevens.edu
201-216-5687
Stevens Institute of Technology
2-Apr-2007