STARTUPS & INNOVATIONS

PRODUCTS

SimRated, a simulation-based e-learning tool, has developed software that allows students and other healthcare practitioner users to learn and practice a variety of medical procedures.

Dana Hills High School, one of SimRated’s first clients, is using the software to teach, train and test its students. The platform includes videos and reading materials to help students prepare for the simulated procedures, as well as a checklist and an exam feature to test students. 

Co-founder and Chief Executive Dr. Cameron Ricks, who is also the medical director at the Medical Education Simulation Center at University of California-Irvine, developed the curriculum after realizing that there is a big variance in procedural knowledge among medical and nursing students.  

“After watching a number of training programs, I thought there had to be a better way to do this. I wanted to create a way to train students effectively and consistently—and that’s what SimRated does,” Ricks said. 

After beta testing the product at UCI, the company signed a licensing agreement in May that allows it to train their customers using the same curriculum that the university uses. As it enters the market validation stage, SimRated is operating with relatively low costs, according to the company.  

SimRated has been part of the Wayfinder program at UCI Beall Applied Innovation for two years.

Ricks founded the company with Chief Operating Officer Keith Beaulieu, director of operations at the Medical Education Simulation Center at UCI; and Chief Technology Officer Michael Ma, a researcher at UCI.

FINANCING

Medical device maker Cactus Medical has received a $225,000 Phase I Small Business Innovative Research grant from the National Institutes of Health. 

The Irvine-based company was also awarded a $39,000 Catalyzing Pediatric Innovation Grant from the West Coast Consortium for Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics, an FDA-sponsored pediatric device accelerator based out of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The company plans to conduct additional regulatory work with CTIP. 

Cactus Medical aims to improve the diagnosis for ear infections in children—the second most common reason for a pediatric office visit—through a newly designed otoscope.

Like a traditional otoscope, the device uses light to look into the ear, but it also uses light wavelengths to detect fluid behind the eardrum and it can see through earwax. 

Ear infection misdiagnosis is the leading cause of unnecessary antibiotic use. That’s why co-founder and Chief Executive Dr. Samir Shreim decided to create a device that clinicians are used to handling, with a few additional features. 

The new funds will allow the company to take the otoscope into the clinic to collect to compare with its Gen-1 prototype, which was 98% accurate. Cactus Medical will test the product at  University of California-Irvine and the Beckman Laser Institute. 

In February, the company was awarded a $225,000 Small Business Innovative Research grant from the National Science Foundation, which funded the miniaturization of the product, as well as systems and processes for calibration.  

The company has also been funded by friends and family, as well as an internal grant from UCI. Cactus Medical is currently seeking early-stage funding from angel investors.

Orbee Auto, maker of a digital marketing and sales software platform for automotive dealerships, recently closed a $1 million seed round.

The Irvine-based company offers interaction tracking, sales automation and data management features on its platform, as well as outbound marketing tools.

Orbee Auto’s clients include local dealerships such as Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Nigel, Tuttle-Click Automotive Group and DeLillo Chevrolet.

The platform’s newest feature, an inventory campaign management tool, allows companies to craft marketing strategies based on back-end data.

“Dealers tend to think of themselves as the last place that a customer goes—physically,” said Chief Operating Officer and co-founder Atul Patel. “But we’re trying to give them the opportunity—like Amazon or Target—to use data [that reveals customer behaviors] to offer personalized suggestions and drive better conversations.”

Patel, an entrepreneur with more than 18 years of experience in data-centric sales and advertising automation, founded the company in 2015 with Chief Executive Daniel Kim, a former Bain & Co. consultant; and UCI alums Christopher Prijic, chief technology officer and Jose Ortega, vice president of data and integration services.

Orbee Auto moved to 5251 California Ave. earlier this year, and has 18 employees. The company plans to grow its team to 25 by year’s end.

PARTNERSHIPS

Mission Viejo-based emergency communications system 10-8 Systems, which makes cloud-based computer aided dispatch and records management software, has partnered with Florida Search & Rescue and the Crowd Emergency Disaster Response Digital Corps to help respond to the victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas.

Florida S&R and CEDR Digital Corps work closely with FEMA and local governments to help coordinate rescue efforts to those stranded and in need of medical assistance, rescue and supplies.

The company’s system has already helped hundreds of people across the Bahamas—people stranded in their cars due to flooding and trapped in their attics with water rising, among other dangerous conditions.

“Our system allows for an immediate response to dispatch rescue vehicles, coast guard efforts and boots on the ground. Since 10-8 Systems is completely cloud-based, it can be used anywhere in the world to allow for these crowd-sourced volunteer efforts,” said Chief Executive Kevin Ruef.

“We’re proud to have the ability to help these groups, and the victims of Hurricane Dorian, with our system.”

Ruef founded 10-8 Systems in January along with his brother Bryan Ruef, who is finishing his degree in computer science, and has nearly nine years of experience as an EMT, dispatcher and volunteer with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The software has processed more than 27,000 incidents in 41 states, and has partnered with dozens of event organizers and safety agencies including Phenix City, Ala.-based 911iNET, which has more than 100 public and private agencies contracted.

Irvine-based virtual reality gaming company Immersive Entertainment Inc. is working with Newport Beach-based virtual reality adtech firm Trivver.

Immersive Entertainment will use Trivver’s products on a trial basis for its Virtual Universe, a story-driven adventure game it has designed where players can interact with others and explore the living VR world around them.

2D advertisements are considered disruptive to immersive extended reality experiences, but Trivver’s technology auto scales advertisements into 3D, among other features.

This allows companies to better advertise in the games without interrupting players.

For the player, “this experiential form of advertising represents a future of discovery and interaction that is unobtrusive and fun. It’s a win for the brands and a win for the players,” said Ciaran Foley, chief executive of Immerse Entertainment.

Immersive Entertainment was founded by Foley and Chief Operating Officer Robert Curtis in 2013. The pair have experience in virtual reality, augmented reality and blockchain, and have played a role in a number of startups over the years.