NanoMed Tracking, Inc.

In the U.S., roughly a dozen surgical instruments are left inside patients’ bodies every single day. That’s nearly 6,000 incidents a year, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

For example, a 2018 report in the New England Journal of Medicine found that two surgical sponges were left inside a woman’s abdomen for six years. This is a serious, potentially life-threatening problem. But NanoMed Tracking is creating a solution.

The company is developing a system for marking and tracking medical instruments. Using its own Quantum Dot technology, NanoMed places invisible nano quantum dots on each instrument. These dots are completely invisible to the eye and unobtrusive to the surgeon.

After application, an optical scanner reads the unique markers on the instruments used during a procedure, and identifies if they’re all accounted for. All information is stored in a data management software system.

This company is an extension of another medical technology company, Global Cancer Technology. GCT is developing a remote controlled drug-delivery platform for cancer, and was featured in Crowdability’s premium research service, Private Market Profits.

As mentioned, tracking surgical instruments is a surprisingly big problem. The Food and Drug Administration requires that medical devices be tracked from their manufacture through the distribution chain. Yet fewer than 3% of hospitals have a system to track supplies at the instrument level.

Sponges, scalpels, scissors, needles, forceps, masks, tubes — several instruments can be used in an operating room, the main revenue-generating space for hospitals. And misplacing these instruments (whether inside a patient or not) costs hospitals time and money. That’s why they’ve started seeking state-of-the-art technology to support the effective management of operating rooms.

NanoMed Tracking’s technology offers this support. In brief, its system offers an immediate return on investment for hospitals, enhances patient safety, and improves instrument management.

NanoMed Tracking aims to bring its system to market within the next 12 months.

Once available, NanoMed will offer its technology through 3-to-5-year contracts, and generate revenue through software licensing, service agreements, instrument marking fees, and hardware costs.

In addition to targeting the $1.1 billion U.S. market for surgical instruments, the company’s technology could be applied to industries including aerospace (tracking airplane components); government/military (tracking weapons systems); construction (tracking materials and tools); and automotive (tracking vehicle parts).

Team Background

Tom Hamelin - VP of Hospital Operations

Tom has 30 years of experience in the hospital administration sector.

Prior to NanoMed Tracking, he was a director at St. Vincent Hospital and Boston Medical Center. Additionally, he was a Vice President at Awarepoint, which provided workflow automation and tracking solutions to hospitals. Awarepoint was acquired by CenTrak in 2003.

Tom holds a Bachelor’s degree, MBA, and Doctorate degree.

John Clark - Chief Executive Officer

John Clark has more than 25 years of experience in the medical industry.

In addition to his role with NanoMed Tracking, he is the Founder and CEO of Global Cancer Technology, a medical company creating a remote controlled drug-delivery platform for cancer.

He was Founder and CEO of American Radiosurgery, a San Diego-based company providing surgeons with neurosurgical equipment tools. This was the first company in the U.S. to create a device for the use of rotating gamma technology, a surgical technique that enables doctors to more precisely treat brain tumors.

Prior to that, he was a financial partner at Endolase, a medical company focused on creating surgical lasers used in cataract surgery procedures.

John studied at the University of Scranton.

Milan Mikale - Chief Technology Officer

Milan is a faculty member at UC San Diego’s Moores Cancer Center, where he specializes in medical devices and imaging.

He is a member of the American Chemical Society and earned a degree in Radiation Biology from the University of Alberta.

Marc Potvin - President & COO

Marc has 25 years of experience in operations, sales, marketing, and strategy. This includes 15 years of experience in the medical device industry.

In addition to his role with NanoMed Tracking, he is a board member with Connect/SDSI, a business incubator for startups. Previously, he was a managing partner with Agility, a human recourses outsourcing firm.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from McGill University.

Co-Investors