Advanced Cooling Therapy Receives $175,000 In Cash Awards

KALAMAZOO -- Advanced Cooling Therapy LLC, a Michigan Medical Device Accelerator portfolio company, has recently been honored with two prestigious awards totaling $175,000 in value.

At the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition in Ypsilanti, held Nov. 15-17,  ACT was honored with first place in the Medical Devices sector, a distinction that was accompanied by a $25,000 cash award.

And in addition, in the same week, ACT was awarded a $150,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation for its work on developing the technology.

The MMDA was formed in 2009 by Southwest Michigan First, the economic development agency for southwest Lower Michigan, to take advantage of the region's strong life sciences medical device research and development environment. The MMDA looks to invest in ideas that can be developed into products through a community-based development process. The accelerator is currently managing a portfolio of over 40 companies with products in various stages of development.

Advanced Cooling Therapy, an early stage company focused on the development of a novel temperature management device for therapeutic hyperthermia is one such company. ACT is developing patent-pending, disposable medical devices enabling safer, more efficient and cost-effective patient temperature control that has the potential to save lives.

"The excitement of bringing one of the MMDA's companies to the finals of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, the largest business plan competition in the country, is truly amazing," said Kevin McLeod, managing director of the MMDA. "These awards will allow the accelerator to move ACT more rapidly towards commercialization."

Added Ron Kitchens, CEO of Southwest Michigan First: "When Southwest Michigan First formed the MMDA, we knew it would take time to properly develop the organization's support network and pipeline. Our organization is extremely proud of what has been achieved in a relatively short time by the MMDA and its decision to work closely with ACT."

And ACT founder and CTO Erik Kulstad, M.D., said: "When we started looking for a partner for our company, the MMDA was an obvious choice as we wanted to take advantage of Southwest Michigan's exceptional resources and talent in the medical device industry.  Our company's decision to relocate to Michigan as part of the MMDA appears to have been a wise one."

More at www.mmdaccelerator.com or www.southwestmichiganfirst.com.