Intellijoint Surgical Opens New Headquarters

Intellijoint Surgical Inc. has finally gained its independence.

The Canadian startup officially opened its new headquarters on Aug. 15, nearly two months after graduating from the Ontario-based Accelerator Centre, a network of facilities that help develop and commercialize technology startups. The company’s new facility — in Waterloo (Ontario) — has all the trappings of home, with a wall in the front reception area that includes a copy of the first cheque Intellijoint Surgical received for its high tech hip replacement product from Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Waterloo Chronicle. Also prominently displayed is a copy of the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its Intellijoint HIP product.

“I really say this time and time again, but we really started from nothing,” Intellijoint CEO and co-founder Armen Bakirtzian said during the opening. “We were three friends out of the University of Waterloo and we’ve built something great together, and this thing that we’ve built wouldn’t be possible without every single person in this room.”

Transitioning from the Accelerator program to an independent company was a big leap, but it was bolstered by the knowledge that the new site also has been a launching pad for two other successful local high tech companies, including Aeryon Labs, which builds unmanned aerial vehicles at its new location, Bakirtzian noted.

Intellijoint’s 6,400 square-foot facility will enable the firm to develop, design, manufacture, sell and support its product in one central location.

“The last month has been very exciting for us having the announcement of the FDA approval being the biggest milestone to date for our company,” Bakirtzian told the Chronicle. “Having regulatory approval in the U.S. is very important and builds on our Canadian clearance and all the good clinical work we’ve done in Canada so far.”

The Intellijoint HIP device, a miniaturized sensor system that helps surgeons place orthopaedic implants during hip replacement surgery, is already being used in four Ontario hospitals and will also be used in four hospitals in the U.S. Its two miniature sensors are placed in the sterile field and communicate with a portable display. Controlled by the surgeon, it quantifies the measurements, often left to subjective judgement, required for selecting and positioning hip implants.

“We’re up to about 130 procedures using the device, and the volumes have gone up pretty quickly,” said Bakirtzian. “Now going into the U.S. as well we hope to increase our volumes, and expect more of the same as more surgeons use our device.”

Intellijoint hopes the device will take some of the guesswork out of surgery, while improving outcomes and reducing complications.

“We hope they really appreciate what it delivers for them,” said Bakirtzian, who comes from a family of doctors and was inspired to develop the device while watching his father during surgery. “So we expect to see more of them use the device in greater volumes going forward.”