BME spinoffs earn SEED funding

Two companies with ties to the UW-Madison Department of Biomedical Engineering are among the funding recipients of the annual State Economic Engagement and Development (SEED) program.

The first is Atrility Medical, a medical device company co-founded by alumni Matt Knoespel (BSBME ’17) and Phil Terrien (BSBME ’17) along with UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health Professors Nick Von Bergen and Vikas Singh. The company is working to further develop its AtriAmp device, which started as an undergraduate BME design project, for detecting postoperative cardiac arrhythmias in pediatric patients.

Walter Block, a professor of biomedical engineering, medical physics and radiology, is part of a team that’s created a disposable liner for MRI and CT scanners to help prevent hospital-acquired infections. Block’s frequent collaborators Andrew Alexander, a professor of medical physics and psychiatry, and Azam Ahmed, an associate professor of neurosurgery and radiology, are also part of the team.

The SEED program is coordinated by UW-Madison’s Discovery to Product office in partnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Seven companies founded by UW-Madison researchers received funding in total.