BETHLEHEM, Pa. — In the shadow of her alma mater, 2007 Lehigh University honors graduate Dori Jones on Tuesday held the care of critically ill infants in her heart.
And in her hands, she held a winning $20,000 check to help fund the mission.
Jones, co-founder and chief executive officer of Minneapolis-based AcQumen Medical Inc., was selected the grand prize winner at the StartUp Lehigh Valley’s project-pitch competition at Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center.
Fashioned after the ABC-TV program “Shark Tank,” the event featured six entrepreneurs making three-minute presentations to a panel of three judges about their project.
The entries were as diverse as health tech, clean energy, environmental protections and agtech.
Judges then questioned the entrepreneurs for five minutes about different aspects of their project.
What if?
Jones pitched a portable device called UltraTrac, an ultrasound-powered, non-invasive cardiac monitor for pediatric critical care.
The device measures cardiac output continuously by placing a sensor on the infant’s neck and electrodes on their skin, providing medical staff real-time actionable data.
“What if we could give doctors a real-time view inside a child’s body without ever breaking the skin? That led me to start AcQumen Medical.”Dori Jones, AcQumen Medical, Inc.
In the end, Jones owned the judge’s hearts.
“On New Year’s Day of 2023, my 4-year-old son, Evan, was rushed to the ICU,” Jones told the judges. “He was struggling to breathe and his oxygen levels were dangerously low.
"Doctors tried a treatment, then a second, then a third. I remember a doctor saying to me there’s more they could do, and luckily for Evan there was.
"He was placed on a breathing machine and began to recover.”
That worst nightmare for a parent triggered in Jones the fire to found AcQumen Medical.
“What if the doctors knew right from the start what Evan needed?” said Jones, who has 18 years experience supporting cardiac and critical care devices.
“What if we could give doctors a real-time view inside a child’s body without ever breaking the skin? That led me to start AcQumen Medical.”
Standout Startups
Two of the presentations were made by companies from the Lehigh Valley: Hydron Desalination of Allentown and BIRE Technologies of Bethlehem.
Hydron co-founder Sachin Nair pitched a low-cost, proprietary method to treat and reuse produced water using liquid-liquid extraction.
It's a groundbreaking desalination technology that uses special absorbents to extract clean water from contaminated sources, such as oil drilling.
Hydron placed third in the competition and was awarded $2,000.
BIRE Technologies pitched a system that turns river and tidal flow into clean, scalable energy without dams or propellers.
Scalable energy refers to an energy system’s or technology’s ability to grow and adapt to meet increasing energy demands without compromising performance, reliability or sustainability.
Second place and a $3,000 prize was awarded to Lectra Technologies LLC, of Camp Hill, Cumberland County, for a device that uses electrical pulses from a wireless muscle stimulator to aid in healing and rehabilitation.
Other entries
Other pitches were made by Sylf, of Scranton, for a touchscreen drinking alcohol dispenser that got $1,000 as the Audience Choice Award winner.
And KiposTech, of Lancaster, Lancaster County, for a device that eliminates airborne pathogens and particles. The company was awarded six months of meaningful support from the Lehigh Valley Ventures Lab.
Judging the presentations were:
- Stephen Tang: Chairman of NOW Diagnostics Inc. and former chief executive officer of OraSure Technologies, with four decades of leadership in life sciences and innovation.
- Emma Fleck: Professor of entrepreneurship at Susquehanna University, with extensive experience supporting startups across three continents.
- Kathryn Colonna Worrilow: Founder of LifeAire Systems, reproductive physiologist and an air quality pioneer.
StartUp Lehigh Valley is presented by Lehigh University and made possible by support of sponsors including Lehigh Valley Health Network, Lehigh Ventures Lab, PSECU, WFMZ-TV, Service Electric Cable and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
