Utah Innovation Center

UTAH COMPANIES LEAD THE WAY IN INNOVATIVE AND LIFE-ALTERING TECHNOLOGIES

Entrepreneurship and innovation are thriving in Utah’s science and technology sector. From robotic arms and imaging to improving surgery outcomes to technology that can produce oxygen on Mars, Utah’s tech community is making an impact.

The Utah Innovation Center, part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, works with Utah-based small businesses to provide funding to develop these groundbreaking technologies. It provides training and direct proposal assistance to companies applying for grants and contracts through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The center has a win rate almost double the national average. It’s a proud recipient of the Tibbets Award presented by the Small Business Administration to organizations that significantly impact this arena.

These two companies are a testament to the value of this support for companies producing cutting-edge technology in Utah.

nView medical

nView medical, a start-up based in Salt Lake City, makes surgery safer, faster, and consistently more accurate. nView’s insta-3D™ imaging technology provides surgeons with better visualization, improving patient care and outcomes for surgery and interventional radiology.

nView’s imaging system is FDA cleared and features the unique ability to capture 3D images with very low-dose radiation. This approach makes the 3D images available throughout surgery, enabling real-time visualization. The system has GPS-like technology that uses the true representation of the anatomy as maps, and artificial intelligence technology to augment the surgeon’s understanding of the procedure.

“The collaboration with our pilot sites has been extremely valuable to confirm the value proposition of nView’s breakthrough imaging technology,” said Cristian Atria, nView’s founder and CEO. “The level of equipment utilization by many surgeons and now across multiple applications signals the broad applicability of this technology and its ease of adoption.”

This breakthrough medical imaging technology was used for the first time in 2020, during a surgery performed at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Since then, the technology has been used by 13 surgeons across four hospitals in more than 70 cases in pediatric spine deformity, orthopedics, and lung biopsies. In early 2022, the company commercialized its first imaging system and is ramping up production to support further commercialization.

OxEon Energy

Another Utah homegrown business, OxEon Energy, is working to disrupt energy markets worldwide through revolutionary energy conversion and storage methods. The company collaborated with NASA to develop an instrument named MOXIE for the Perseverance rover, which successfully landed on Mars last year. This is NASA’s first major return to Mars since the Curiosity rover landed in 2011.

Both nView and OxEon leveraged federal non-dilutive funding through the SBIR/STTR programs. These programs provide $4 billion annually to U.S. small businesses to research and develop innovative technologies that demonstrate a strong market need and provide substantial benefits.

OxEon’s Mars Oxygen ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization) Experiment, known as MOXIE, provides the Perseverance rover with oxygen production by solid oxide electrolysis of Mars atmosphere CO2. MOXIE’s capability to withstand shock, vibe, and compression was vital as it spent eight months hurtling through space before the rover landed near the Jezero Crater on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.

“MOXIE shows the durability and reliability of OxEon’s SOEC technology,” said OxEon’s CEO, Lyman Frost. “OxEon is working with the MOXIE team, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to learn from the continuing operation of MOXIE on Mars. NASA indicated its satisfaction with OxEon’s technology by placing a follow-on contract with OxEon, where OxEon will be producing hydrocarbon fuel from water, carbon dioxide, and electricity on Mars in addition to the oxygen produced by MOXIE.”