BOSTON, MA – Guided Surgery Solutions, LLC was named a $50,000 Gold Winner at the 2012 MassChallenge Awards Ceremony. MassChallenge is the largest-ever startup accelerator and competition, and the first to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strings attached. Of the original 1,237 global applicants to MassChallenge in May, Guided Surgery Solutions was one of 16 finalist teams to win a cash award.
Guided Surgery Solutions has developed a patent-pending drill guide for dental implant surgery. The ThinLayerTM Guide provides surgeons the accuracy of computer-guidance, with the ease of freehand drilling. The MassChallenge award comes after four rounds of judging by well-known investors, entrepreneurs, and executives – and demonstrates that Guided Surgery Solutions has a compelling product, plan, and ability to execute.
Tooth loss will affect nearly every person’s health and self-esteem, and dental implants are often the best treatment. “Research shows that 3D image-based surgical guides are the most accurate method for surgeons to drill a hole for an implant,” says founder Dr. Jerome Haber, a Wellesley-based periodontist and award winning researcher, who invented the ThinLayerTM Guide in his clinic in response to the limitations of currently available solutions.
“We surveyed 12,000 implant-placing doctors, and found they wanted to adopt the best technology for their patients, but faced significant issues with the design and price of existing guides,” said Jeremy Benedict, CEO of Guided Surgery Solutions.
The patent-pending ThinLayerTM Guides address all of the design issues at half the price of existing guides. And whereas its competitors charge up to $10K for proprietary new software and drills, Guided Surgery Solutions provides free software and works with the implant systems and drills that a doctor already uses. “We built our solution on the voice of the customer, and eliminate many barriers to adoption of guided surgery,” said Haber.
“MassChallenge has been an amazing experience for us. The program, mentors, and network accelerated our development. We launched our product and have a much more focused plan as a result,” said Benedict.