May 30 2013
OptiMedica Corp. has announced that it received a Red Herring 100 North America award, which honors the continent’s most promising private venture technology companies.
OptiMedica was selected by Red Herring’s editorial staff based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as intellectual property, disruptiveness of the solution in the market, technological advantage, management quality, strategy and market penetration. Alex Vieux, chairman and CEO of Red Herring, presented the awards during a ceremony on May 23, 2013.
Red Herring 100 Awards are widely recognized as one of the industry’s more prestigious recognitions, with up to 3,000 candidates from the United States and Canada competing each year.
“It is a tremendous honor to be named as one of Red Herring’s top 100 companies in North America,” said Mark J. Forchette, president and chief executive officer of OptiMedica, who was present to accept the award. “Since 2004, we have been working continuously to revolutionize laser cataract surgery both for ophthalmologists and their patients by providing unparalleled precision and performance with our Catalys Precision Laser System. This honor reinforces just how groundbreaking our technology is for patients and the importance of our work.”
Red Herring’s Top 100 North America list, which has been compiled every year since 1996, is a mark of distinction, identifying promising new companies and entrepreneurs. Each company is individually evaluated against 19 different criteria. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube, Marin Software, Palo Alto Networks, and eBay would change the way we live and work. More information about the selection process can be found at www.redherring.com/top-100.
About Catalys
Catalys® is a precision laser cataract surgery platform that delivers gentle, highly customized procedures with best-in-class accuracy and performance.1-3 Catalys is the only laser platform designed specifically for laser cataract surgery, and it offers several unique benefits for surgeons and patients, including: complete capsulotomies and precision within 30 μm 1,2; lens fragmentation that segments and softens the cataract, enabling near elimination of ultrasound energy in cataracts of all grades 4,5; and, custom corneal incision architecture based on anatomical landmarks. Key proprietary features of the system include a Liquid Optics™ Interface that ensures gentle docking with minimal intraocular pressure rise and clear optics for unsurpassed imaging and laser delivery; and Integral Guidance™, 3D Full Volume Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and automated surface mapping algorithms that guide laser delivery. Since its international launch, Catalys has been named one of the top medical technology products in the world. In 2012, the system won the prestigious R&D 100 award from R&D Magazine and was also a finalist in the Medical Design Excellence Awards.
References
1 Palanker DV, et al. “Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery with integrated optical coherence tomography.” Sci Transl Med. 2010 Nov 17;2(58):58ra85.
2 Friedman NJ, et al. “Femtosecond laser capsulotomy.” J Cataract Refract Surg. 2011 Jul;37(7):1189-98.
3 Culbertson, B. “Optimization of corneal incision parameters with a femtosecond laser for cataract surgery.” XXX Congress of the ESCRS, Sept. 2012.
4 Conrad-Hengerer I, Hengerer FH, Schultz T, Dick HB. “Effect of femtosecond laser fragmentation on effective phacoemulsification time in cataract surgery.” J Refract Surg. 2012 Dec;28(12):879-83.
5 Conrad-Hengerer I, Hengerer FH, Schultz T, Dick HB. “Effect of femtosecond laser fragmentation of the nucleus with different softening grid sizes on effective phaco time in cataract surgery.” J Cataract Refract Surg. 2012 Nov; 38(11): 1888-94.