Venture Capital : Innovation + Job News

As document sharing has transitioned from walking a manila envelope down the hall to e-mailing a digital image, document viewing has become a complicated task. With hundreds of file types and varying security measures, it's hard to be sure your document will get where it's going and will be read when it gets there. Manayunk software firm Vuzit designed the DocuPub platform to simplify the process, allowing companies to view documents of all file types safely and securely, over a cloud-based server system that can even be read on mobile devices.

Founded by former Traffic.com employees Chris Cera and Brent Matzelle, Vuzit has drawn recent investments from Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Robin Hood Ventures, allowing Vuzit to make some upgrades. This month, the company announced it will be using the investment to add advanced search capabilities over the whole cloud or within document files. The company also plans to add search engine optimization.

"Chris and Brent saw that, as people wanted to send more and more files over the internet, they were going to want to do more than just send PDF files around, without having any idea what people were doing with the files," says Board Advisor Coley Brown.

With investment in place, Vuzit hopes not only to upgrade its software but its staff as well, looking to hire three to five new engineers and development professionals over the next sixty days. With these investments, Vuzit hopes to expand DocuPub's versatility, adding more file types (it allows 40 already) and allowing an ease of use not yet available.

"Most people turn everything into PDFs but in many cases, it's a pain or there are conversion problems," says Brown. "What most people would rather do is say 'here is my Visio file and even though you never paid for Visio, don't have a license for it, you can see it as if you did."

Source: Coley Brown, Vuzit
Writer: John Steele

Susan Ng and her team at Villanova's Real Time Tomography have made a living at perfecting the science of mammogram imaging. Their software products have made traditional film-screen images obsolete, allowing faster mammogram results and more accurate imaging. With a new $275,000 match grant from Ben Franklin Technology Partners, RTT begins the commercialization process this month, bringing their software to the giants at Seimens and GE and, hopefully, saving lives.

"With digital imaging, the image that is produced is not what the radiologist sees, it is processed and enhanced so that lesions are more visible," says Ng. "As the industry moves from film screen to digital, we can process images six times faster, reducing patient wait-time and making images clearer for doctors."

After introducing their 2-D imaging software, Adara, in 2009, Ng and her team have created a 3-D platform to give radiologists an even better view of critically affected breasts. Ng hopes commercialization goes smoothly as RTT has gone to great lengths making compatible software, not just for large companies but for small and mid-sized manufacturers as well. Because everyone deserves a great picture.

"There are a lot of mid-sized companies in Europe and a very big market opening up in Asia," says Ng. "These mid-sized companies have smaller R&D groups and often purchase their software from third parties like us."

Source: Susan Ng, Real Time Tomography
Writer: John Steele  

With Lab Hub, Blue Bell's Halfpenny Technologies hopes to take Health Information Exchange technology to the next level, integrating features like computerized order entry and results reporting with the company's already-respected exchange tools. With a little help from their friends, Halfpenny may be ready to deliver this turnkey technology sooner than expected as the company announced two big steps forward last week.

First came a $2.6 million venture capital investment. Locals like Bala Cynwyd-based Osage Venture Partners and LORE (Loosely Organized Retired Executives) Associates partnered with New York-based Milestone Venture Partners to put support behind Lab Hub. Investors believe the financing will help push Lab Hub over the finish line.

"Halfpenny's strong technology platform, domain expertise and solid business strategy combined with its growing client base have positioned the company to move to the next level, says Osage Venture Partners vice president David Drahms. "We look forward to partnering with Halfpenny in meeting the needs of the evolving healthcare market."

Halfpenny also announced the addition of four industry veterans to the Halfpenny Management Team. New team members include , executive vice president of business development Mitch Fry; chief financial officer Daniel O'Brien; senior vice president of sales Roger Newbury; and vice president of sales Jim Sheils. While trying to establish Lab Hub in new markets, Halfpenny officials hope these experienced team members can keep things growing.

"All of our new team members have impressive track records in healthcare and understand the complex challenges facing the industry today," says Halfpenny chief sales officer Bob Cox. "We are pleased to be able to draw upon the strategic vision and in-depth understanding of these healthcare veterans and look forward to their insights and ideas as we continue to develop solutions that address ever-expanding laboratory outreach, HIE and REC initiatives."

Source: Bob Cox, Halfpenny Technologies
Writer: John Steele

Anyone who has used eBay before understands the ease of PayPal. But for the medical industry, where costs come with a long list of variables--whether or not a patient has insurance or if there is a deductible--the simplicity of PayPal is even more desirable. Center City-based InstaMed allows doctors and health care centers the ability to turn any computing device into a payment terminal, able to calculate the copay and deductable for a complete check-out. The technology now operates in over 7,500 health centers, representing all 50 states. This week, InstaMed announced receipt of $6 million in new capital growth funding, bringing total investment to $22 million.

"We allow health systems to get rid of all the hard terminals you would typically see at a retail store or pizza shop where they swipe your card," says InstaMed CEO Bill Marvin. "What's unique about InstaMed is we are one integrated platform for handling everything that has to do with money in health care."

With the new funding, coming from existing investors including Bala Cynwyd's Osage Partners, InstaMed will continue to expand market share, launching new marketing campaigns, and aggressively expanding business development. But as a relatively young company, Marvin is keeping an eye on quality, looking to update technology systems. By keeping their message and technology strong, Marvin's team hopes to make InstaMed as common as Tylenol in American hospitals.

"As a business that was really just an idea six years ago, we implemented our first hospital only three years ago," says Marvin. "We have experienced tremendous growth in the last three years and we are at the point where the existing data centers and technology infrastructure that we built needs to be upgraded and taken to the next level."

Source: Bill Marvin, InstaMed
Writer: John Steele

If you're interested in innovation and job news from throughout Pennsylvania, do yourself a favor and check out our sister publication called Keystone Edge. Keystone Edge covers Innovation and Job News from Erie to Easton in its weekly online magazine, which publishes each Thursday and is also available via free subscription here.