Press Release: Biotricity Medical Options CU Bioelectric Power Technology

Monthly Newsletter from UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

Colorado company to develop implantable biogenerator to power implanted medical devices

Boulder (August 11, 2009). The University of Colorado and Biotricity Medical Inc. recently executed an option agreement allowing Biotricity Medical to develop technology for implantable biogenerators. These biogenerators provide a long-term (potentially inexhaustible) power supply to implanted medical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps, removing the need for repeated power replacement operations. The underlying technology was developed in the lab of Dr. Simon Rock Levinson, a professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

The company’s first planned product, EpiVoltTM, is a tiny, implantable biogenerator that will provide power indefinitely to devices including pacemakers, insulin pumps, cochlear implants, artificial retinas and vagal nerve stimulators. The EpiVoltTM device is made of living electricity-generating cells that use the body’s own natural chemicals and processes to create electric power. “It‘s an inexhaustible source of power that will be much smaller than the batteries it will replace,” explained Dr. Levinson. “This will allow the EpiVoltTM to be permanently implanted in very small spaces along with the device that it powers, without the need for long connecting wires running through the body to a remote battery power source.” The company believes its products will improve the quality of life for millions of people with diabetes, chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, and those with pacemakers, cochlear implants and other implanted devices.

Biotricity Medical is led by Dr. Stephen Rathmill, a business driver with 27 years of experience creating and managing high-tech businesses, with Dr. Levinson serving as Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. “If the EpiVoltTM proves to be scalable and commercially feasible, it can be a powerful platform for miniaturization, expand design flexibility, and push back the practical limitations for implantable electronic medical devices,” said Rick Silva, Director of Technology Transfer for UC Denver. “We have been impressed by the technical challenges already addressed, and are optimistic about demonstrating the feasibility of the technology in animals in the relatively near future.”

About Biotricity Medical Inc. Biotricity Medical is a medical device research and manufacturing company specializing in developing long-term power requirements for implanted devices based on bioelectric generation. Founder Simon Rock Levinson, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, is a noted researcher in the field of bioelectricity generation in the nervous system and is a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Cofounder Stephen Rathmill, Ph.D., President, is a business performance specialist and an expert in leadership and organizational systems. www.biotricitymedical.com

Posted by Lindsay Polak at 9:15 AM
Labels: bioscience, press-releases, uc-denver