A urological catheter that features a camera and a light to guide implantation is planning the second-generation version of its medical device.
However, it’ll likely be a year or two before Columbus, Ohio-based PercuVision rolls out version 2.0 of its DirectVision System, which is designed to address urinary catheter problems and improve the Foley catheter procedure.
“What we’re trying to do is to really simplify the features and lower the cost,” said Earl Singh, the company’s chief operating officer. “That will give us the opportunity for better market traction.”
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For example, the, first-generation version features a camera that can focus, but that’s really not necessary when dealing with a space as small as the inside of the urethra, according to Singh. The focusing camera’s presence in the device was a result of the company’s go-to market strategy.
“The strategy was to get to the market as fast as could,” Singh said. “We tried to take as many off-the-shelf components as we could to get to the market quickly.”
Also on the company’s agenda is obtaining the CE Mark, which would give it the right to sell the device in the European Union. That’s also a year or two away.
PercuVision was recently awarded a $1 million grant from the state’s Third Frontier technology acceleration program to help the new version of the system.
The company describes its product as a “visual guide” through the urethra that could cut down on urinary catheter problems from bad insertions, and thus cut healthcare costs by reducing catheter-related damage from the procedure. The product, in essence, is a catheter with a flashlight and camera at the end. Nurses, who usually perform catheter insertions, can see the catheter’s path and will be more likely to complete the procedure smoothly and quickly the first time, according to the company.
It’s intended for use by operating-room and emergency-room nurses, said Singh. His brother, Dr. Errol Singh, is the company’s founder and a urologist with the OhioHealth System in the Columbus area.
In August 2009, PercuVision received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its device.
Aside from lower the cost of its device, another key for PercuVision will be signing operating partnerships with companies that can assist with sales and marketing and distribution. “We don’t plan on organically growing all those things and doing all that in house,” Singh said. “That’s not the business model.”
The 15-employee company has thus far raised $6 million from angel investors. Singh hopes to have doubled that number of employees in about two years. Thus far, four hospitals have purchased PercuVision’s system and several more are evaluating it, Singh said.
