MedShape’s ankle fusion technology earns FDA clearance

MedShape Solutions, a GRA VentureLab company, has garnered FDA 510(k) Clearance of its new DynaNail ankle fusion nail.  The DynaNail device uses patented shape memory technology to adapt to changes in the fusion site, maintaining close apposition of the bones and compression across the fusion zone during the post-operative healing process.  DynaNail’s co-inventor, surgeon Dr. Doug Paccaccio, said, “DynaNail offers a dynamic, more patient-friendly alternative to bulky external frames that can present significant patient care issues.”

MedShape’s shape memory technology has it origins in the laboratories of Georgia Tech.  Read more here>

UGA Researchers have golden touch

GRA Eminent Scholar Ralph Tripp and colleagues at the University of Georgia have developed an inexpensive, rapid, sensitive diagnostic test for influenza.  Until now, physicians and public health officials have had to choose between a highly accurate yet time-consuming test or a rapid but error-prone test.

By coating gold nanoparticles with antibodies that bind to specific strains of the flu virus and then measuring how the particles scatter laser light, the technology can detect influenza in minutes at a cost of only a fraction of a penny per exam.

“We’ve known for a long time that you can use antibodies to capture viruses and that nanoparticles have different traits based on their size,” said study co-author Ralph Tripp, GRA Eminent Scholar in Vaccine Development in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine. “What we’ve done is combine the two to create a diagnostic test that is rapid and highly sensitive.”

In addition to other viruses that infect humans, the diagnostic strategy may be useful in identifying viral infections that plague poultry, one of Georgia’s leading industries.  Read more>

GRA VentureLab company Urjanet closes Series A financing at $2.2 million

Urganet, an Atlanta-based company that helps large-scale energy consumers manage energy use and environmental impact, has announced the completion of a $2.2 million Series A financing with investments from the GRA Venture Fund, LLC and Imlay Investments Inc.

“This investment round will allow us to provide our innovative technology more quickly to large-scale energy users worldwide,” said Urjanet CEO Sanjoy Malik. “These companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on electricity and natural gas at multiple, often widespread, locations. They need robust intelligence to contain costs and manage environmental impact.”

Urjanet’s platform, developed in collaboration with researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, collects and reconciles energy and environmental data from many sources, allowing businesses to make complex decisions about energy use and cost.

“Urjanet exemplifies the kind of company that the GRA Venture Fund was created to support,” said Fred Cooper, chairman of the Fund’s board of directors. “The Urjanet technology platform, developed in Georgia Tech’s research laboratories, addresses some of the most significant challenges for large energy users in a sophisticated way.”

Sig Mosley, president of Imlay Investments, noted, “Urjanet has already proven the value of its unique solution with Fortune 500 companies and is poised to capture significant share in this rapidly emerging market.”

Innovation at Urjanet is supported by the Georgia Research Alliance, the GRA VentureLab commercialization program at Georgia Tech and the National Science Foundation.