TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 5 5 E very day, innovative solutions in health care are redefining the boundaries of possibility. In the world of wound closure, where staples and sutures can create an entry point for infections, the next generation of surgical adhesives looms on the horizon. While identifying cognitive impairment—from sideline concus- sion assessment to early detection of Alzheimer's—can seem nebulous and imprecise, a mobile tablet tech- nology seeks to detect issues of brain functionality in five minutes or less. Despite meticulous efforts to scrub away mold and mildew, health care-ac- quired infections and allergens in our schools, homes and workplaces still seep through—but one company's antimicrobial technology aims to fill in those gaps. As a multitude of different electronic medical records applications are brought into the clinical landscape, innovators are striving to make the Texas Medical Center the most interop- erable health network on the planet. These breakthroughs represent just a few of the companies that were welcomed into the inaugural class of TMC|X—the accelerator program that serves as one of the core components of the Texas Medical Center's Innovation Institute. Housed within a stylish 100,000-square-foot facility, almost unrecognizable from its former days as a Nabisco cookie factory, barring the original factory floors and pipes, TMC|X is designed to catapult the development of early-stage companies. Hailing from across the globe, includ- ing Germany, Israel and throughout the United States, 22 TMC|X startups were selected from a pool of over 260 applicants. "We're extremely proud to welcome the first class of startup companies into TMC|X," announced Robert C. Robbins, M.D., president and chief executive offi- cer of the Texas Medical Center. "Our job here is to help make you successful in every way that we possibly can—to help you realize your hopes and your dreams. There is no doubt that your First-Class Innovators The Texas Medical Center welcomes 22 companies from around the world to the inaugural class of its accelerator program B y A l e x O r l a n d o talents and innovations will change not only Houston, but the world." In choosing companies that would help establish the burgeoning entre- preneurial ecosystem of TMC|X, and winnow down the expansive pool of applicants, no corners were cut. "Our intention was always to take a select number of companies," explained William F. McKeon, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Texas Medical Center. "We wanted the best of the best so that we could really focus our resources around these companies—it's about helping them achieve success while connecting them with the resources available in the heart of this incredible medical city. "The unifying thread is that our team who looked at this really identi- fied companies that have the potential to advance care," he added. "Whether that's in the form of a technology to monitor blood loss during surgery or a new method of wound care, in each case we truly felt they had something compelling to offer to the medical community." TWENTY-TWO COMPANIES WERE SELECTED FROM A POOL OF OVER 260 APPLICANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INAUGURAL CLASS OF TMC|X—THE ACCELERATOR PROGRAM OF THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER INNOVATION INSTITUTE. TOP: Alexander Schueller, president of Medical Adhesive Revolutions, pitches his company's biomedical marvel—a surgical adhesive that has the potential to improve wound closure. LOWER LEFT: Clay Phillips, vice president of business development for LaunchPad Central, Andrea Kates, chief executive officer of LaunchPad Central, and Robert C. Robbins, M.D., president and chief executive officer of the Texas Medical Center. LOWER RIGHT: During the first day of the program, entrepreneurs mingled with their fellow classmates.

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