Piezo Resonance Innovations is a big name for a small company. But the Bellefonte-based manufacturer of custom medical equipment, armed with another infusion from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northwest Pennsylvania, is getting ready to manufacture its products onsite in the third quarter of 2010, according to company president Maureen Mulvihill.
The firm applies piezoelectric materials that generate sonic and ultrasonic signals used to precisely control the positioning of devices. PRI applies the technology in devices for critical care and minimally invasive surgery.
“Devices that have actuation components move in such a way enable better procedural outcomes,” she explains. “We have created a device that clears feeding tubes, which is a serious problem for chronically ill patients, in the ICU or for wounded soldiers. It addresses a hardware issue, not a nursing issue.”
Ben Franklin has been a steadfast supporter of PRI: its recent investment of $100,000 brings the total it has given PRI to $420,000. The three-year-old firm now has eight employees and will add six advanced manufacturing positions in the third quarter. The firm is already certified as a medical manufacturer.
The resonance device is being tested at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC and at Eisenhower Medical Center in Fort Gordon, GA. The firm anticipates a U.S. Defense Department appropriation and has received funding from the National Science Foundation.
Source: Maureen Mulvihill, Piezo Resonance Innovations
Writer: Chris O’Toole