TecMinho spin-off receives START 2009 Entrepreneurship Award

iSurgical3D, the research team and future company from University of Minho, has just been awarded with the START 2009 Entrepreneurship Award. This is the third time in a row that a project from University of Minho wins this award: Stemmatters was awarded in 2007 and WeAdapt was the winner of the 2008 edition.

The winning technology created by iSurgical 3D consists of developing surgical prostheses that will be used to correct the “pectus excavatum” condition, a congenital anomaly characterized by a depression of the sternum and lower costal cartilages, in the front of the thorax. These new prostheses will make it possible to shorten the hospital confinement and surgical procedure periods, other than reducing the cost of corrective surgeries (currently, the surgery costs 5000 Euros and in the future, with this technology, it will cost around 1850 Euros).

This technology, which has a pending international patent application submitted with the support of TecMinho, had already been awarded in March this year with 1st place at the SpinUM – Business Idea Competition (promoted by TecMinho and Spinpark), which made it possible for the project to be included directly in the semi-finalists group of the START 2009 Entrepreneurship Award.

This award constitutes a great achievement for the entrepreneurial team, not only for the recognition and motivation it encompasses, but mostly as an enabling tool to boost the project. TecMinho will continue to actively support the team in the future challenges and opportunities that it will face.