Univ. of Minn. Spins Off Device Firm

The University of Minnesota is spinning off a medical device company born of its research.

XO Thermix Medical hopes to produce medical devices based on development activities at the university’s Medical Devices Center in the School of Science and Engineering.

The firm’s initial project is a device used to treat chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), a condition when veins don’t effectively carry blood from the legs to the heart. According to the nascent device firm, the technology would offer faster, cheaper and less-painful treatment than current methods. More than 9 million Americans have significant CVI, the university said.

CVI patients will be treated using an injection of heated solution into the vein that destroys the vein wall. Current treatments require additional preparation that could be avoided if the device works as anticipated. Patients with the disease seek treatment because they do not like the way the veins look or because they become painful.

“Our initial products are very much in tune with the demands for reducing medical costs and producing better results for patients that lie at the heart of healthcare reform,” the new company’s CEO, Mike Selzer, said in a statement.

Selzer is no stranger to medical technology. He was the former head of Medtronic’s neurostimulation business, a founder of business accelerator ConcepTx Medical and former CEO of Minneapolis-based Urologix Inc.

XO Thermix Medical will use the research of Dr. Erik Cressman, a professor and clinician in the radiology department at the university’s medical school.

The university is an equity partner in XO Thermix, which currently is operating on money from its founders and the university, with plans to raise additional funding.

A university spokesperson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that this is the 11th company to come out of University of Minnesota research in the last 18 months.