Advanced Optronics, a Pittsburgh-based startup spun out from technology developed at Carnegie Mellon University, is bringing to market a new sensor system that could help surgeons better navigate cochlear implant surgeries and potentially improve patient outcomes.
The company honed its product-market fit, pivoting from its initial focus, with the help of I-Corps.
Cochlear implants are electronic devices that can improve hearing for patients with severe hearing loss who do not hear well with hearing aids.
But the surgery to insert the devices can be a delicate procedure.
“Cochlear implants are amazing and can restore your hearing if you are deaf,” said Jay Reddy, co-founder and CEO of Advanced Optronics. “Hearing loss is gradual over time. The problem with implants today is that they can damage the remaining natural hearing you have left. This residual hearing loss makes patients hesitant to commit to getting an implant.”
What’s more, waiting to treat hearing can cause further damage, as hearing stimulus keeps brain regions active.
“Untreated hearing loss is the number one preventable risk factor for dementia,” said Reddy. “If people are unable to hear well, they may experience social isolation, depression, and dementia.”
Advanced Optronics’ system is designed to preserve structure and function during cochlear implant procedures by enabling doctors to navigate surgeries with increased accuracy.
“Our guided system augments a surgeon’s sense of touch, providing tactile feedback,” said Reddy.
The company’s system does so through its sensors: ten times thinner than a human hair, comprised of tiny circuits and interconnects built on thin-film, biocompatible polymers, making them soft and flexible.
Those sensors, which detect strain, are distributed throughout the cochlear implant electrode. As it passes through the body, it can detect turns and barriers, reconstructing what is happening for a surgeon guiding it. Audible alerts provided by the system assist surgeons during procedures.
“It’s like the parking sensors in your car,” said Reddy. “It can alert you before you have an accident.”
Advanced Optronics was founded in 2021 by Reddy and Maysam Chamanzar, Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Career Development Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University. Reddy earned his Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from CMU in 2021.
That same year, the company participated in a regional NSF I-Corps Hub Mid-Atlantic Region cohort.
“We went into I-Corps thinking we had a product for neuroscientists,” said Reddy. “We pivoted our technology strategy after talking with surgeons. What’s really important if you are an academic entrepreneur is getting in front of customers and getting feedback for your product. Having the early stimulus to find that out, fail quickly, and pivot through I-Corps was useful.”
In 2023, Advanced Optronics received $50,000 to participate in the NSF National I-Corps Teams program.
“National I-Corps helped us figure out aspects of our business model canvas for implants and fine-tune it for our market,” said Reddy.
Since its inception, the company has acquired $2 million dollars in funding, from a combination of equity investment and non-dilutive grant funding.
Advanced Optronics secured an exclusive, perpetual, worldwide license to its core intellectual property (IP) from CMU in 2023. Reddy and Chamanzar developed the technology during their tenure together at CMU. Chamanzar remains involved with day-to-day operations of the company, which employs three people full-time and eight on a part-time or consultancy basis.
Currently, Advanced Optronics is integrating its sensors with cochlear implants from strategic partners. The company is also demonstrating its system in pre-clinical models and is collecting data for a potential future FDA submission for marketing authorization.
Advanced Optronics is building its sensors in nanofabrication facilities at Carnegie Mellon University while working with contract manufacturers to ensure that its processes scale.
Reddy is constantly interacting with surgeons.
“I cannot overstate the impact of our surgeon advisors,” he explained. “We have a surgical advisory board comprised of surgeons from local institutions, including Allegheny Health Network, and the Center for Neurosciences in Arizona. A major portion of our pre-seed fundraising came from surgeon angel investors. We are not just building a technology, we are building a product to solve a problem. Surgeons are involved in every step of the process. We are taking the customer discovery process seriously.”
