TriFusion Devices of Texas A&M University took the top spot recently at the Rice Business Plan Competition in Houston, hauling in some $400,000. The annual face-off - based at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business - just wrapped up its 16th event doling out some $1.7 million in prizes.
We talked with CIO/Co-founder Brandon Sweeney about his business, which develops 3d printing technologies aimed at the health care and sports equipment industries. Edited excerpts:
Hank Gilman: Where did you get the idea for your business?
Brandon Sweeney: It originates from my PhD research. During a job at the Army Research Labs in 2012, I recognized the need to have 3D printed parts that were structurally sound. When I started my PhD the following year, I applied a technique they were using for detecting carbon nanotubes in biological samples using microwaves to solve the stability problem that has always plagued 3D printing. About a year later when we got the technology working, I met Blake Teipel, now the co-founder and CEO of TriFusion, and he suggested we should use this technology to print custom prosthetic devices like legs, feet, arms, and hands. It was the perfect application of the technology.
Gilman: At what stage are you?
Sweeney: We have developed a 3D printer with an integrated microwave unit that allows us to weld the layers of a 3D printed part together - making it just as strong as an injection molded or machined counterpart. Weak layers are the fundamental problem with 3D printing - for well over two decades now. And that's what restricts its use to mostly prototypes and toys. We have a partner who is scaling up production of the thermoplastics we use in the printer, and we are printing prototype devices to be tested at the Baylor College of Medicine.
Gilman: Do you have financial backing?
Sweeney: Yes, he is an Aggie himself. His name is Gene Birdwell, a Houston angel investor. I can’t say how much he has sunk in, but he believes in us and he takes care of our financial needs because of that.
Gilman: What now?
Sweeney: Evaluate and track our device performance on volunteers who test our devices at the clinical stage. We are partnering with the Dallas and Houston Veterans Administration to test these devices. We will be fitting prosthetic sockets - things you slip your residual limb into to walk on, Next we will need to submit a premarket submission to the FDA to demonstrate that the device to be marketed is safe and effective. Basically it's very easy to prove our devices are safe so we can sell them right away without having to do a decade long clinical study. Once approved, we work with prosthetic and orthotic clinics to deliver devices to the general public. We will 3D print and ship the device to the clinic. We will continue to develop the core technology and discover other industries such as sporting protective equipment - football helmets, pads, shin guards, anything you would want a custom fit for. We’re looking at military products too, like like non-ballistic soft body armor and helmets.
Gilman: Aspirations?
Sweeney: After I complete my PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, I’d like to grow this business and start others. I am an entrepreneur through and through, and I have other ideas I would like to convert into successful businesses.
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