Cardiff University spins out medical devices company with backing from Fusion IP

Spin-out

Fusion IP, the quoted university IP commercialisation specialist, has backed the formation of Asalus Medical Instruments Ltd, a spin-out from Cardiff University.

Asalus is founded on the inventions of Neil Warren, Manager of the Wales Institute of Minimal Access Therapy (WIMAT) at University Hospital Wales in Cardiff.  The company is developing three new devices to improve the safety and efficiency of laparoscopic surgery, a surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions.

There are several benefits to laparoscopic surgery and, as a result, the numbers of procedures using the technique has grown rapidly over recent years.  Over two million laparoscopic operations per year are performed in the US.  

The three products that Asalus is developing are: a novel smoke and steam clearance device for removing electrosurgical smoke from the abdominal cavity; a novel access port; and a multifunctional device for the manipulation of tissues and organs.

WIMAT was set up in 1994 to provide training in a range of medical and surgical techniques. Warren, who will serve as chief technology officer of Asalus said the work at WIMAT is at the forefront of minimally invasive surgery training. “It was this hands-on experience that enabled me to come up with the concepts for the Asalus range of laparoscopic devices.”