Founder Fuel: Helping surgeons save stroke victims

For their Capstone Design project, Michael Phillips and his roommate Phillip Cooper (both BASc ’17, mechanical engineering, entrepreneurship option), created a camera that could help surgeons remove blood clots from the brains of stroke patients. That meant making the world’s smallest camera — and making it flexible enough to travel through a maze of veins and arteries. 

The result is Vena Medical. A startup fuelled by hard work, funding support and a team of advisors. 

Phillips and Cooper's focused approach to fundraising secured support from the Esch awards, the Engineer of the Future Fund and the Palihapitiya Venture Creation Fund. By the time they graduated, they had $150,000 in grants.

One success led to the next, including patents, pre-clinical trials and widely cited journal articles.

Go to Saving stroke victims with the world's smallest camera for the full story.