Cincinnati Children’s Launches Innovative Device Startup, Xact Medical

Backed by Cincinnati Children's and CincyTech, Xact Device to Improve Vascular Access

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Ben Gurion University in Israel today launched Xact Medical, a new company the hospital and University formed to commercialize the FIND system—Fast Intelligent Needle Delivery. 

FIND extends and enhances clinician capabilities and control for precisely, quickly, and conveniently placing a needle tip at a point in the body that significantly improves odds of successful vascular access on the first try.

The technology, invented and developed through a collaboration between Cincinnati Children’s and Ben Gurion University (through BGN Technologies, the BGU technology company), began with a back-of-the-napkin sketch in 2012. It quickly progressed from an idea to a prototype.

Daniel von Allmen, MD, surgeon-in-chief at Cincinnati Children's, and Hugo Guterman, PhD, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ben Gurion University, leveraged their combined clinical, research, and engineering expertise to identify an unmet need and create a solution that is now the backbone of Xact Medical. 

"I am very excited for the launch of Xact Medical and the promise this technology holds for pediatric patients," said von Allmen. "The fact that up to a third of central placement attempts in kids fail on the first try is unacceptable to us. This technology can drastically reduce patient discomfort and procedure time while improving outcomes for children and adults." 

“The launch of Xact Medical and the development of this technology is a great testament to our partnership with Cincinnati Children’s leading to advances in healthcare,” said Netta Cohen, chief executive officer of BGN Technologies. “We believe Xact is the first of many high-impact innovations to come from this collaboration.” 

Xact Medical will initially focus on central line placements in pediatric and adult populations with plans to expand into additional markets such as biopsy. Immediate next steps for the company include further testing its prototype and market research as it works toward FDA approval. 

"I believe this technology has significant potential to improve patient outcomes while reducing costs to the healthcare system," said Andrew Cothrel, chief executive officer of Xact. "We are confident that with the institutional and financial support currently in place, Xact can meet its short- and mid-term goals as we move toward commercialization." 

“Cincinnati Children’s is increasingly a source of medical innovation and Xact Medical is the latest example,” said John Rice, PhD, director of life sciences at CincyTech and board chair of Xact. “CincyTech is excited to again partner with Cincinnati Children’s and be on the ground floor of this promising company.” 

Initial investors in Xact Medical include Cincinnati Children's and CincyTech.