• LifeServe Innovations

  Led · Grant · Dec 2011

  LifeServe Innovations is a Cleveland startup developing an airway-access device aimed at helping anesthesiologists perform bedside tracheotomies in critical-care situations. The company says its device can enable doctors to perform airway-access procedures more quickly, easily and safely than existing tracheotomy kits. LifeServe is at the clinical-stage and plans to use recent funding to develop and manufacture a clinical-stage prototype. The startup received support from LaunchHouse, a local incubator that has funded the company. The new funding will specifically be used for prototype development and manufacturing activities. The company’s near-term focus is on bringing a manufacturable clinical prototype to support further testing and adoption. LifeServe Innovations was started by Rick Arlow and partner Zachary Bloom to address shortcomings in emergency airway-access tools. The company has designed two devices, the Cobra Tracheostomy and the Viper Cric, both inspired by the way snakes bite and currently in preclinical testing on cadavers. LifeServe has raised $100,000 in early funding and won a $25,000 entrepreneurship award from LaunchTown (grant and services). Cleveland nonprofit BioEnterprise has provided business-development help, including identifying potential grant sources and conducting market research. The team is continuing to gather preclinical data and is seeking sources of investment and partners to help test the devices if and when they are cleared for human use. The company and its devices are still very early stage, and LifeServe is also evaluating whether the products are best commercialized independently or as part of a larger company; the devices may attract military interest if proven superior to current options.

No current team members are available.