Pittsburgh, April 17, 2024 -- A startup team featuring neurosurgeon Michael McDowell, MD; neurosurgery chief resident Ricardo Fernández-de Thomas, MD; medical student Adi Mittal; and Pitt undergrad students Benjamin Leslie, Rohita Mantena and Amna Imran, captured the grand prize at the 2024 University of Pittsburgh Big Idea Competition for their product, the Malleous, a novel surgical instrument designed to help reduce surgical time.
The Malleous is a patent pending, bendable suction-retractor designed for microsurgery optimization. This innovative tool combines the flexibility of a standard brain ribbon retractor with the benefits of a passive suction device in one tool. In a preliminary trial, the Malleous sped up procedure time by almost 40%, when compared to standard brain ribbons and suctions.
The Big Idea Competition is an experience-based learning opportunity for Pitt students and postdocs with ‘big ideas,’ working to bring those ideas to market. The competition is open to all Pitt undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs across all schools and departments. The annual competition awards monetary prizes to students with the most startup potential, including a grand prize of $25,000.
The Malleous team was also selected out of 450 competitors to present their device at the prestigious Rice Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Rice University Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
Visit the Malleous website to learn more about their innovative tool.