MIKE CUSICK

THE IDEA:

A medtech startup that deepens surgical insights and improves patient outcomes

Information is power when it comes to helping providers make more informed decisions about patient care.

That’s the concept behind GemViz, a medtech development company based in Kosciusko County — the Orthopedic Capital of the World. Company cofounder Mike Cusick says the Warsaw area has no shortage of medical device companies, but his innovation is different because of the tech-forward approach.

A veteran of the orthopedic and medical device industry, Mike says the idea is to create a digital health solution that will create a “medical digital twin” of a patient on a highly secure, decentralized network. The technology will link multiple sources of patient data to help medical teams act accordingly before or after surgery. As Mike puts it succinctly, “think of it as Carfax for patients, but with the ability to simply visualize the data and immediately gain surgical insights.” The result is that medical providers can evaluate what’s going in with the patient more holistically and determine the best treatment for their situation.

Naturally, the target customers are hospital systems and surgeon groups looking to improve patient experience, engagement and outcomes. Hospitals, surgeons and patients would be the stakeholder and who’d benefit from implementation when the time comes.

In the meantime, Mike is committed to creating a functional prototype to gain additional customer feedback to refine the innovation. From there, he and his team plan to seek additional funding to create a minimally viable product and company structure to gain more footing. Mike and his team plan to use the grant funds to help achieve this goal. Then, they plan to seek additional feedback from customers and pursue additional funding.

GemViz is in good company with other medtech startups disrupting the market. According to Statista, the global medtech industry’s revenue stood at approximately 384 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. This represented a 37 percent increase since 2011, and the market was forecast to increase to around 600 billion U.S. dollars by 2024.