Armen Bakirtzian

June 2, 2016

AC Grad Intellijoint Surgical wins the Shopify Grit Award

TORONTO (May 31, 2016) – At today’s Action Entrepreneurship Canadian Summit in Toronto, Futurpreneur Canada and Shopify announced Intellijoint Surgical Inc. as the winner of the Shopify Grit Award. The award celebrates the kind of business success that comes from having “true grit” – creativity, ingenuity and resilience when faced with challenges.

“Futurpreneur has helped launch thousands of businesses and we are honoured to be 1 of 3 recipients of the prestigious 20th Anniversary Awards,” said Armen Bakirtzian, Co-Founder and CEO, Intellijoint Surgical Inc. “Business owners across this country face countless challenges, and we are humbled and extremely proud to represent the hard work and determination it takes to succeed.”

The team at Intellijoint Surgical started out as three graduates from Waterloo University with no medical background or entrepreneurial experience who set out to undertake a major challenge – creating a medical device and putting it on the market. They overcame many obstacles to create a surgical device that is FDA-approved, has a Health Canada medical device license, and has been used successfully over 350 times across North America. In just six years, they’ve gone from one desk at the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo to 10,500 square foot facility and have hired 22 people.

“Starting a business takes dedication, hustle and a desire to succeed. We’re excited to support the next wave of entrepreneurs, especially the incredibly talented team at Intellijoint Surgical,” said Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify.

“Starting a business can be challenging for anyone without entrepreneurial experience, but putting a medical device on the market is a huge test of resilience,” said Scott Bowman, Senior Director, Ontario, Futurpreneur Canada. “The team at Intellijoint Surgical have proven that determination and persistence are one of the greatest contributors to entrepreneurial success.”

The Grit Award was one of five awards that Futurpreneur presented today. Other awards included the Clearwater Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the BDC Mentorship Award, the Youth Business International Beyond Borders Award and the RBC Community Partner Award. These awards are one way the organization is celebrating its 20th anniversary, by recognizing top Futurpreneur-supported entrepreneurs and the people and organizations that support their success.

March 17, 2016

Intellijoint Surgical and Corin Group enter strategic partnership for intellijoint HIP

Waterloo, Ontario, March 17, 2016 – Intellijoint Surgical Inc., a privately held Canadian medical technology company committed to developing and commercializing miniaturized surgical smart tools announced today the signing of a distribution agreement with Corin Group. The deal gives Corin distribution rights for Intellijoint’s flagship product, intellijoint HIP™, in Australia and paves the way for broader distribution and co-development between the two companies.

intellijoint HIP provides surgeons with vital intraoperative measurements in real time, enabling proper establishment of cup position, equalization of leg length and restoration of hip offset. These critical measurements enable surgeons and hospitals to improve surgical outcomes by reducing uncertainty and risk, while improving patient outcomes and economics.

Russ Mably, Corin’s Chief Operating Officer commented, “We are delighted to partner with such a progressive company as Intellijoint Surgical, and are excited about our future collaboration. This partnership will further strengthen our market leading position in functional implant positioning with our existing OPS Technology (Optimized Positioning System), and underlines our commitment to continue to invest in Personalized Procedural Innovation”.

“We are pleased to partner with Corin to offer intellijoint HIP to surgeons in Australia. The broader capability of Corin’s organization and their commitment to innovation will expand access to the latest technology available for 3D surgical measurement to the growing Australian hip replacement market where surgeons currently perform about 45,000 procedures annually. We look forward to the beginning of a meaningful relationship between our two companies and are excited about future opportunities,” says Armen Bakirtzian, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Intellijoint Surgical.

About Intellijoint Surgical Inc.

Intellijoint Surgical is a Waterloo-based innovative medical technology company. Founded in 2010, they develop and commercialize miniaturized surgical smart tools that enhance surgeon accuracy, increase hospital economic efficiencies, and improve patient outcomes. The company’s R&D team is led by the former co-founder of Medtronic’s computer assisted surgery division, and driven by a team of renowned orthopaedic surgeons: Drs. Allan Gross and David Backstein in Toronto, Dr. Wayne Paprosky in Chicago, Dr. Javad Parvizi in Philadelphia and Drs. Michael Cross and Ran Schwarzkopf in New York.

About Corin Group

As a leader in orthopaedic innovation, Corin has pioneered a number of landmark developments since it was founded in 1985. Corin is very proud to have been able to improve the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of patients around the world through the introduction of these groundbreaking products, and believes that this heritage distinguishes Corin within the global orthopaedic market. Corin’s talented and dedicated teams share a common commitment – to deliver quality orthopaedic products, procedural innovation technologies and services to patients, surgeons and healthcare providers, which exceed their expectations and positively impact their lives, through Responsible Innovation.

November 5, 2015

AC Grad Intellijoint granted new patents in the US

Intellijoint Surgical’s Patent Portfolio Gains Strength Through the Issuance of New US Patents

AC Graduate Intellijoint Surgical Inc., a medical technology company committed to developing and commercializing low-cost miniaturized surgical smart tools, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company a key patent related to its core technology in miniature 3D surgical measurement. The patent, number 9138319, is entitled “Method and system for aligning a prosthesis during surgery”.

Intellectual property development is a strategic cornerstone for Intellijoint Surgical. The company continues to build its patent portfolio through new applications and several recent issuances. The issuances include Intellijoint’s core technology and the surrounding instrumentation enabling it to be placed in a sterile field. Another key patent, entitled “System and method for intra-operative leg position measurement” is expected to issue in early 2016.

“Our miniaturized smart tools are setting the new standard in 3D measurement for surgery,” says Armen Bakirtzian, Chief Executive Officer of Intellijoint Surgical. “Patent issuances are rewarding milestones recognizing the novel technology our organization has created. We will continue to aggressively pursue patents to protect our innovations and build business value”.

Intellijoint graduated from the Accelerator Centre in 2014. The company’s technology provides quantifiable, accurate, intra-operative feedback helping surgeons and hospitals to potentially improve surgical outcomes through accurate implant positioning and selection, ultimately improving patient satisfaction and healthcare economics.