MORGANTOWN — Local surgical device company Endolumik has started commercial sales of its innovative Gastric Calibration Tube, with its first client being the Nebraska Medicine Bariatrics Center.
In its recent announcement, Endolumik cited Dr. Corrigan McBride, chief of General Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery and Bariatrics at UNMC and director of the Bariatrics Center. McBride commented, “Innovation is one of the core values of Nebraska Medicine and UNMC, so when I saw the Enolumik I was excited about the opportunity to improve patient safety through a new surgical device.”
As The Dominion Post has reported previously, calibration tubes are commonly used in gastric and bariatric surgeries. But the tubes are difficult to see inside the stomach, which can lead to medical errors. Endolumik’s patented Gastric Calibration Tube incorporates near-infrared LED lights into the tube to improve visualization for the surgical team and enable safer, more standardized surgeries.
And as we reported in March, Endolumik recently received FDA 510(k) clearance of the device. The FDA announced Endolumik’s tube is the first device ever to be authorized under its Safer TEchnology Program. Endolumki said the STEP program is for devices that are “reasonably expected to significantly improve the safety of currently available treatments.”
Gastric Calibration Tube inventor Dr. Nova Szoka said, “It’s our goal to provide surgeons with additional visual cues to help them improve their performance, and standardize surgical outcomes for patients.”
Endolumik noted it is a women-owned, women-led company, founded on the invention of a female surgeon. “When Dr. McBride expressed her interest to be one of the first users, both parties thought it seemed a fitting opportunity to have a woman surgeon lead the way for this technological innovation.”
The Dominion Post reported in March that Endolumik closed a $1.5 million investment to commercialize its Gastric Calibration Tube. The equity round was led by the Country Roads Angel Network, which previously invested $240,000 in late 2021 and another $145,000 in March.
Endolumik said in its new announcement it is launching the device with a select number of leading hospitals and surgery centers throughout the spring. Endolumik CEO Mara McFadden said, “We are looking for partners who not only appreciate the technological value of this device for patients, but are excited to be ushering in a new era of higher-performing digital surgical tools.”
Szoka is a WVU Medicine surgeon working at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital and Endolumik founder. Endolumik is a WVU spinoff, and the device was developed at Intermed Labs at Mon Health, a medical technology startup studio partnering with Mon Health.
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