Nervonix Inc.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: High Tech ColoradoBiz

Tech startup of the Month

Longmont

www.Nervonix.com

FOUNDED: April 2004 as Nervonix

(first launched as CKM Diagnostics in Bozeman, Mont., in the late 1990s)

INITIAL LIGHTBULB

Almost a decade ago, Bozeman anesthesiologist Dr. Phil Cory came up with a better method for locating nerves in order to administer regional anesthesia. Partnering with his wife, Montana State University professor Joan Cory, he looked to commercialize his science and started a company, CKM Diagnostics, under the auspices of the local incubator, TechRanch. But a licensing deal with a major medical company fell through in 2002. And that left CKM "stranded, without a plan, without money and without resources," said Paul Ray, who joined the company as president, CEO and self-described "business guy" in April 2004.

Ray has been involved in numerous medical-device startups, most notably Image Guided Technologies, a Boulder-based company he founded, took public, and sold to stryker, a major medical-device company, in 2000. He changed CKM's company name to Nervonix and moved the headquarters to Longmont in the process. (The Corys, still involved, remain in Bozeman as Nervonix's R&D team).

IN A NUTSHELL

Regional anesthesia "is like playing golf," said Ray. "If you don't do it with regularity ... it's not as easy." Now in the working prototype phase, Nervonix's technology makes regional anesthesia simpler and quicker by accurately locating the nerves that need to be blocked. The technology measures electrical impedance differences on the surface of the skin and constructs a two-dimensional model of the nerves underneath.

The status quo for identifying peripheral nerves is nerve stimulation, which can be time-consuming for the anesthesiologist and uncomfortable for the patient. Ray likened Nervonix's pain-free alternative to "a stud finder," noting, "We literally complete a circuit," he said, comparing the device to shavers that use disposable razor blades. It's not very expensive in and of itself, but it requires a disposable electrode for each use.

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In many cases, regional anesthesia is preferable to general anesthesia.

Noted Ray: "It's easier on...