At the Academic Medical Centre Arthur Kievit has developed a method for diagnosing prosthetic loosening of Total Knee Replacements (TKR) in a direct manner. The orthopaedic surgeon in training designed a device that enables the application of a constant force to the knee while recording a CT-scan. With the use of dedicated software the condition of the bone-prosthesis interface can subsequently be evaluated. Kievit’s method improves the diagnosis of TKR loosening which is currently costly, time consuming and has a risk of a false positive result. He realised that this also implied a business opportunity, which he explored during AMC’s Graduate Course ‘Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences’. His case stood out and yielded him participation at a training day of IXA Pontes Medical, where he won a development award.
He now hopes to demonstrate the clinical relevance in a study in seven hospitals, funded by a valorisation grant from NGI/ZonMW, the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development. With the establishment of his spin-off firm Comforthod, Kievit hopes to pursue other projects as well: “I like to bridging the gap between clinic and business”, he says. ‘Providing a solution for everyday clinical problems is satisfying in itself, but turning it into business means you’re really giving it relevance.”
What are the first steps when beginning a start-up? IXA sat down with postdoctoral researcher and entrepreneur Alexander Kostenko to obtain advice for starting academic entrepreneurs. Starting a company is “really hard,” explains Alexander Kostenko with a smile. Alexander found his start-up Photosynthetic in 2019 so he could build high-end 3D printers that make micron-sized objects […]
Developing high-quality entrepreneurship education – Amsterdam’s higher education institutions have been working closely together on this since 2008. This was done in the IXAnext valorisation program between 2016 and 2021. We proudly present the main results of the IXAnext program: Ten Amsterdam entrepreneurship cases; Post experience education for alumni; Blended learning modules; A mentoring platform […]
Biobanks contain valuable information on the donor of the sample. Access to these collections can be crucial for companies developing novel diagnostics or therapeutics.