Medivance: Climate Control for the Body

Physicians have long theorized that being able to precisely warm and cool patients, depending on their conditions and settings, would be beneficial in both cardiovascular and neurological procedures, and recent clinical evidence has shown temperature management to be even more important than initially thought.Medivance is looking to develop a non-invasive external temperature management system that is both simple to operate and suitable for a variety of settings for both precise warming and cooling. The company believes an external device avoids the risk of an invasive procedure and can be used easily by neurologists, who generally aren't comfortable inserting catheters.In striving to solve a difficult technology problem (external, non-invasive temperature management) with an easy-to-use device, Medivance is looking to avoid a problem that plagues many device companies--falling in love with complex, hard-to-operate technology. While a very sophisticated device may work effectively, a steep learning curve inhibits broad adoption because physicians are notoriously reluctant to adopt new technology unless it closely resembles current techniques. Medivance's system enables an anesthesiologist to regulate patient temperature without intruding on the surgical field and without heating up the OR, a win-win for surgeons.