Donning surgical scrubs on Monday, Dec. 16, Armen Bakirtzian stood in an operating room at Mount Sinai Hospital and held his breath.

Orthopedic surgeon Allan Gross was handling a device, which Bakirtzian initially designed as his final-year university design project.

After five years of work, and various iterations, it would finally be used for the first time in a patient — to help guide the placement of an artificial hip.

“It was a thrill for us, seeing our product used in a live OR,” said 28-year-old Bakirtzian, whose devices had first been tested in cadavers. “It was a dream we were picturing for years.”

Bakirtzian came up with the idea for his device—known as Intellijoint HIP—after discussions with his orthopedic surgeon father, as way to make these hip replacement surgeries more accurate.

While surgeons use their experience, professional judgment as well x-rays to determine implant choices, but there can always be resulting complications, or even minor ones such as a change in leg length.

The disposable device – originally known as PelvAssist, just received Health Canada approval—uses a combination of hardware and software to calculate the right angles and orientation for the device using sensors.

Related:

Canadian Youth Business Foundation tackles youth unemployment

Blank canvas offers potential to all

The device, which costs $550 for each unit, will be used in surgeries at Mount Sinai as well three other hospitals in Ontario. Unlike other products on the market, there is no huge capital equipment outlay required.

Bakirtzian argues that if the hip replacement is placed more accurately, it means fewer revision surgeries are required – now estimated at 7 per cent for hip and knee replacements. As well, slight leg length differences may not lead to a second surgery, it can cause back pain and continuing discomfort.

Bakirtzian co-founded Intellijoint Surgical with University of Waterloo friends Richard Fanson and Andre Hladio – but they didn’t immediately jump into their business.

All three went for further schooling, completing master’s degrees, while working on the device on weekends and evenings. It was only in 2010, when a professor suggested that they aim for Ontario’s Next Top Young Entrepreneur Start-Up Pitch Competition, which they won, that their business began to get off the ground.

They then linked up with the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, where they secured $50,000 in loans, which Bakirtzian says was critical to the company’s ability to apply for other government grants and loans.

“It’s not easy to get your first dollar,” he said. “It was our first layer of infusion of money.”

Since then, the company has raised $5.7 million including $3.3 million in Series A financing in September though accelerator funds and angel groups. They eventually met other experts in the field including Gross who also invested in the business.

While it took almost three years to get this device ready for market including winning patent and Health Canada approvals, Bakirtzian believes it has applications for other surgeries from knee replacement to smaller joints like elbows to ankles, and beyond orthopedics.

“Technology is not a one trick pony,” he said.