Garwood Medical Devices

A semi-finalist of Buffalo’s 43 North business competition and a member of the StartUp-NY tax breaks program, Garwood Medical Devices is based in downtown Buffalo and is developing “smart bandage” medical devices. The devices will contain integrated sensor and communications technologies to enable unprecedented outpatient treatment for implant infections and chronic wounds. These devices will leverage 6 patents, three of which are held by the company and three of which are licensed exclusively from the University at Buffalo.

The company is currently focusing on the development of two devices. Their EnerAid™ Active™ bandage aims to improve blood flow, and thus increase the rate at which ulcers, surgical and other wounds heal, while simultaneously encasing the wounds in a protective and sterile environment. The company is also developing an orthopedic infection control technology and device that addresses the difficult challenge of eradicating bacterial biofilms (i.e. microorganisms that can adhere to surface joints) in orthopedic and other implants.

The company is using UB’s Center for Computational Research (CCR) industry supercomputer and expertise at UB to perform high-fidelity simulations of their medical devices to improve their design and optimize their effectiveness. These simulations rely on sophisticated engineering codes that simulate the dynamic interaction of multiple physical phenomena, including heat transfer, electrochemistry, and blood flow. To date the company has consumed over 50 years of compute cycles on the CCR industry supercomputer. Garwood’s partnership with UB has helped support 7 graduate students, providing them with an opportunity to develop and apply their high-tech skillsets on a project that promises to have a real and immediate impact on society.

Chronic wounds affect 7+ million patients in the U.S. each year and with their patented technologies, Garwood is poised to lead in this emerging field. Garwood Medical Devices is a great success story that can continue to get stronger illustrating the power of industry and academic partnerships.