Contour Medical, a spinout company led by BME Graduate Students Alex Verderber and David Ruppert, is looking to change a medical device that has evolved little since its inception in the 1930s—the rib spreader. By creating a device that changes the way thoracic tissue is engaged, Contour Medical hopes to reduce the incidence of chronic post-operative pain in patients who require thoracic surgery.
Carolina Challenge is an annual competition open to any UNC-affiliated person or persons with entrepreneurial aspirations. The finalists of the competition present their plans to a panel of judges consisting of successful entrepreneurs and business people as well as community and university leaders. For the 2014 competition, Contour Medical won $10,000 and came in second place overall out of seventy that entered the competition. They won first place in the “Commercial: High Tech” track of the challenge!
Contour Medical has also been invited to attend Stage 1 of the E-Team program sponsored by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. The E-Team program is a three-step program designed to provide support and funding of up to $75,000 to collegiate entrepreneurs working on market-based technology inventions. Contour Medical is one of 40 entrepreneurs funded to attend the Stage 1 Workshop and invited to apply for the Stage 2 competition, which will award $20,000 to twenty applicants. To read more about the E-Team competition, check out the website for the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance.
Congratulations to Contour Medical!