Ohio Third Frontier Provides more than $13 Million to Support Ohio Innovation and Education

Columbus – Today, the Ohio Third Frontier Commission recommended more than $13 million in awards, including nearly $8 million through the Ohio Third Frontier Biomedical Program, nearly $1 million through the Ohio Third Frontier Medical Imaging Program, $4 million through the Ohio Third Frontier Sensors Program, and $321,000 through the Ohio Third Frontier Internship Program.

“These investments support Ohio’s economy and have a valuable impact on our day to day lives,” said James A. Leftwich, Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “By improving the products that keep us healthy, focusing on advanced manufacturing, and providing important opportunities for talented young Ohioans, we are creating a vibrant innovation and business ecosystem for Ohio.”

The Ohio Third Frontier programs accelerate the development and growth of the biomedical, medical imaging, and sensors industries and their supply chains in Ohio. The programs provide direct financial support to organizations seeking to: commercialize new products; adapt or modify existing devices, diagnostics, or components; address technical and commercialization barriers; or demonstrate market readiness.

Fiscal Year 2011 Ohio Third Frontier Biomedical Program

Arteriocyte, Inc., located in the City of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with The Ohio State University, was awarded $999,969 for its Development and Commercialization of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Expansion for Clinical Applications. The project will further develop the NANEX fiber technology used to grow hematopoietic stem cells to achieve regulatory approvals needed for clinical applications. 

AtriCure, Inc., located in the City of West Chester (Butler County), in collaboration with Good Samaritan Hospital, the University of Cincinnati, Battelle, and The Ohio State University Medical Center, was awarded $1 million for its Development and Commercialization of a Minimally Invasive Left Appendage Exclusion System. The project will adapt the company’s existing left atrial appendage clip used in open heart procedures, allowing it to be used for minimally invasive procedures. 

Bettcher Industries, located in the City of Birmingham (Erie County), in collaboration with Community Tissue Services, was awarded $1 million for its Bettcher Medical Debridement Technologies. The project will allow the company to adapt its current products in the fields of tissue and bone recovery, burn treatment, and plastic reconstructive surgery.

Case Western Reserve University, located in the City of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with Proxy Biomedical and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, was awarded $982,768 for its Development and Commercialization of Novel Biomaterials Therapy for Stress Urinary Incontinence. The project will further develop and improve the manufacturing processes to meet regulatory approval for a modified collagen product that is used for non-surgical repairs aimed at reducing stress urinary incontinence.

OrthoHelix Surgical Designs, Inc., located in the City of Medina (Medina County), in collaboration with Hudak, Shunk & Farine, was awarded $1 million for its Pocket Plating System. The project will allow the company to complete the development and regulatory approval of a new design for a plating system for fixation of bones in the foot and ankle. 

PercuVision, LLC, located in the City of Westerville (Franklin County), in collaboration with the OhioHealth Research and Innovation Institute, and Scott and White Hospitals, was awarded $1 million for its DirectVision® Commercialization. The project will develop the next generation of the company’s product that uses a small camera inside a urological catheter to improve placement of the catheter. The next generation product will use improved and lower-cost electronics. 

U.S. Endoscopy, located in the City of Mentor (Lake County), in collaboration with University Hospitals, was awarded $1 million for its Advanced Urological Diagnostic and Therapeutic Accessories Project. The project will expand the company’s existing expertise in the design and manufacturing of gastro-intestinal endoscopes into specialty products for the urological market. 

VasoStar, Inc., located in the City of Mentor (Lake County), in collaboration with Frantz Medical, Interplex, and the Cleveland Clinic, was awarded $1 million for its Vibrating Tip Guidewire System for Penetrating Chronic Occlusions. The project will allow the company to complete development and collect safety data on a vibrating tip guidewire system that will allow cardiologists to break through vascular occlusions that prevent stent placement or completion of a vascular procedure.
 
Fiscal Year 2011 Ohio Third Frontier Medical Imaging Program

Imalux Corporation, located in the City of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with GVI Medical Devices and the Cleveland Clinic, was awarded $987,000 for its Commercialization of an Innovative Medical Imaging System for Early Cancer Detection. The project will improve performance of the Niris Optical Coherence Tomography device, leading to greater market acceptance. The device is used to detect cancer in tissue such as the cervix or bladder, where early- stage disease is not yet visible on the surface, but can be detected with the device.
 
Fiscal Year 2011 Ohio Third Frontier Sensors Program

Energy Focus, Inc., located in the City of Solon (Cuyahoga County), in collaboration with The Ohio State University, Valtronic USA, the University of Dayton’s Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology, and Geis Construction, was awarded $1 million for its Cost-effective Real-time Intelligent Collective Knowledge Environmental Transmitter (CRICKET) System. The project will further develop a lighting sensor that utilizes wireless communication and is powered by a photovoltaic cell. This technology will be deployed in commercial buildings to improve lighting control, save energy, and reduce construction and lighting upgrade costs.

Lake Shore Cryotronics, Inc., located in the City of Westerville (Franklin County), in collaboration with Traycer Diagnostic Systems, the University of Dayton’s Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology, and The Ohio State University, was awarded $1 million for its Cost-effective Terahertz-based Characterization System for Semiconductor Materials Research. The project will further develop the first commercially available terahertz-based spectrometer to be used as a research instrument specifically designed for electromagnetic material characterization.  

Spectre Corporation, located in the City of Elyria (Lorain County), in collaboration with NASA Glenn Research Center and Lorain County Community College, was awarded $1 million for its Silicon Carbide and Piezo-Resistive Pressure/Temperature Sensors for Commercial, Aerospace, and Industrial Applications. The project will further develop a silicon carbide sensor that provides longer life and superior performance, and is capable of operating at three- to four-times the maximum temperature of current technologies. The sensor can be installed into virtually any petrochemical, chemical, food, pharmaceutical, military, space, or nuclear applications.

Stoneridge, Inc., located in the City of Lexington (Richland County), in collaboration with The Ohio State University – Center for Automotive Research, was awarded $1 million for its Development of a Simplified Soot Sensor with High Sensitivity and Rapid Regeneration Capability to Control Emissions of Advanced Combustion Engines. The project will further develop a reliable, accurate, self-cleaning, and cost-effective sensor for particulate matter that provides on-board diagnostics for diesel engines. The sensor monitors the engine’s compliance with the California Air Resources Board and European particulate matter exhaust limits and leads to reduced air pollution.

Fiscal Year 2012 Ohio Third Frontier Internship Program Award

Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, located in the City of Cincinnati (Hamilton County), was awarded $321,000 to support southwest Ohio companies utilizing interns through the Ohio Third Frontier Internship Program.

The Ohio Third Frontier Internship Program contributes to the expansion of a technologically proficient workforce and retains highly knowledgeable and talented students in Ohio through employment at Ohio for-profit companies. Students in the Program gain insightful, hands-on experience related to their field of study, while companies supporting these internships are in turn partially compensated for wages paid during an internship. The program targets the areas of advanced materials; advanced energy; biomedical; instruments, controls, and electronics; advanced propulsion; and information technology. The awarded organization will administer the program for its respective region.

Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to create new technology-based products, companies, industries, and jobs, has attracted more than $5.9 billion in other investments to Ohio, and has a nearly 9:1 return on investment since its inception. The Ohio Third Frontier has also assisted in the creation and retention of more than 68,000 direct and indirect jobs for Ohioans. For more information, visit ohiothirdfrontier.com.

Working with 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 necessary for success by providing financial, informational, and technical assistance to those making an investment in Ohio’s future.

###

Media contacts: at
or the Communications and Marketing Office at (614) 466-2609