Source: Janice Sigler, Blank Slate Creamery Writer: Natalie Burg

Gift of Life Michigan has been saving lives for more than 40 years. By next year, they'll be doubling the footprint of their headquarters in Ann Arbor to amplify the quality of and access to organ transplants in our state. A 50,000 square foot, $12.3 million expansion is planned for the organization's Research Park Rd. facility that will connect two existing buildings, and provide room for a surgical center, 250-seat auditorium and memorial area for donor families.  "There are three things in healthcare that one can always improve upon," says Gift of Life Michigan CEO Richard Pietroski. "There is reducing costs…improving access to a scarce resource, and improving quality. With all our processes centralized, we'll be doing all of that." With a staff of about 200, Gift of Life now sends teams of employees all over the state. With 145 hospitals of varying resources, coordination can be difficult. With surgical capabilities at Gift of Life's facility, donors can instead be transported to one location for a more streamlined process.  "About seven years ago, we had an organ recovery team from U-M involved in a plane crash," says Pietroski. "Nationwide, that's something that's happened frequently enough that I'd rather transfer the donor than have teams fly. It's a service to the transplant center and their teams." While about six months of rezoning and property line changes will preceed construction, Pietroski anticipates construction to be complete by Sept. 2015. About six full-time positions and several more part-time positions will be created by the new facility.  Currently, 3,300 Michiganders are registered organ donors, indicated by a red heart on their drivers' license. People can become organ donors by visiting the Gift of Life Michigan website. Source: Richard Pietroski, Gift of Life Michigan Writer: Natalie Burg

Most startups are excited to have seven figures worth of seed capital coming in. Avegant has managed to score two in its first year. The downtown Ann Arbor-based startup has raised $1.9 million in a Seed Round. It also raised $1.5 million from a crowdfunding campaign earlier this year. And all of these people willing to throw money at the company can’t wait to see its night-vision technology. "We smashed our (crowdfunding) goal (of $250,000) in a matter of three hours," says Edward Tang, CEO of Avegant. Avegant co-founders Tang and Allan Evans met at the University of Michigan. They were approached by military contractors about creating better night-vision equipment for military drivers during wartime. Soldiers were experiencing better results using thermal night vision while driving. The problem was the display was in their vehicle’s dash instead of over their eyes. Tang and Evans found that the computer screen and eye fatigue often downgraded the viewing quality. In response they created a night-vision goggle that projected the image directly on the users eye, providing a big step forward in picture quality. "It was a higher picture quality that I had ever seen before," Tang says. Avegant's team of 11 employees and one intern has created three different evolutions of the prototype since landing the $1.9 million in a Seed Round last August. The Michigan Angel Fund, an angel investment group, led that investment round. Tang expects to ship the first commercial units of the night-vision goggles before the end of the year. "We're considering doing pre-orders on the website," Tang says. "It's going really well." Source: Edward Tang, CEO of Avegant Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Professors from the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia have spun out technology from their respective universities to create a new venture-backed startup, PsiKick. Startups pulling technologies from a number of different universities isn't unheard of. However, fledgling companies taking technology from premier research institutions doesn’t happen often. "It might be more rare that it's this equal (the standing of the research universities supplying the technology)," says Mark Maynard, marketing manager for the Office of Technology Transfer at the University of Michigan. He adds that the contribution of each university's technology is "pretty right down the middle." David Wentzloff and Benton Calhoun met while attending graduate school at MIT. After graduate school they went back to their respective alma maters to start teaching careers. Wentzloff is an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at U-M and Calhoun is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UVa. The friends came together in 2012 to launch PsiKick, which now has offices in Ann Arbor and Virginia. PsiKick is developing an ultra-low-power wireless sensor that is capable of operating on 1/100th to 1/1000th of the power budget of other low-power integrated circuit platforms. That enables the chip to be powered without the help of a battery, instead relying on vibration, thermal gradients, solar, radio frequency or piezo actuation for energy sources. PsiKick's chip conducted continuous EKG monitoring and detection of atrial fibrillation. Wireless updates each second were sent by radio, all operating continuously and powered by body heat using a small thermoelectric generator on a body with no battery at all in the system. The lack of a battery means the chip can be used in a number of harsh environments. "The implications could be enormous for several industries," Maynard says. PsiKick recently closed on a Series A round of funding to help further develop the technology. The investment was led by New Enterprise Associates. Other investors include MINTS, a U-M venture fund, and Osage University Partners. Source: Mark Maynard, marketing manager for the Office of Tech Transfer at the University of Michigan Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Velesco Pharma is expanding its physical presence, opening a new office in Boston to complement its existing facilities in Michigan. The new Boston office is meant to bring the company closer to that region’s booming pharmaceutical industry. Velesco Pharma continues to grow its satellite office in Kalamazoo and headquarters in the Ann Arbor area. It recently hired three people, expanding its staff to 15 people. "We continue to grow and have the bulk of our operations in southern Michigan," says Gerry Cox, COO of Velesco Pharma. Velesco Pharma, wich calls the Ann Arbor SPARK-managed Michigan Life Science Innovation Center home, specializes in pharmaceutical consulting and laboratory services. It also operates a plant in Kalamazoo that makes dosage forms for clinical trials. It registered 30 percent revenue growth last year and is well on its way to repeat that. Cox also expects to hire another 2-3 people before the end of the year to keep up with revenue growth. "We are continuing the same growth rate in the first quarter of 2014," Cox says. "We have been concentrating on what we’re good at and growing that." Source: Gerry Cox, COO of Velesco Pharma Writer: Jon Zemke