The article by Tim Wilson is titled: “The Business of Health Innovation: How Startups Find Funding.”
Here’s an excerpt:
“The doctors [Vito Forte and Paolo Campisi] designed OtoSim and did a clinical validation on the prototype, says Andrew Sinclair, OtoSim’s CEO. “They then disclosed the invention to SickKids, who passed it to MaRS Innovation, which is a partnership of the universities, teaching hospitals and other institutions focused on commercializing the best of the Toronto research ecosystem.”
Title page for Tim Wilson’s article on health sector innovation, featuring OtoSim and MaRS Innovation, in the Autumn 2012 issue of Health Research & Innovation.
MaRS Innovation saw promise and moved the technology to market, including providing initial staffing, patent protection and, importantly, seed funding in the form of grants and a convertible debenture and brought the product to market in less than a year.
You can read the whole article by Health Research and Innovation (Autumn 2012) OtoSim article.
OtoSim Designated a B Corporation
OtoSim has also been certified as a B Corporation (B Corp), which use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.
OtoSim Inc.’s goals include improving the medical training standards by which otoscopy, the examination of an ear using an otoscope and one of the world’s worst-acquired medical skills, is taught to doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners.
Using the OtoSim™ device, a learning bridge between books and real patients, students allows students to look with one eye through an otoscope at a simulated ear mounted on the device.
B Lab, a non-profit organization, certifies B Corporations, the same way TransFair certifies Fair Trade coffee or USGBC certifies LEED buildings. All B Corps meet a wide range of comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards; there are over 550 Certified B Corporations across 60 different industries.
OtoSim Inc., a MaRS Innovation spin-of company, was featured along with MaRS Innovation in the Autumn 2012 edition of Health Research & Innovation magazine.