Seattle’s Mirador Biomedical received FDA approval of its two lead devices, the Compass Vascular Access (VA) and the Compass Lumbar Puncture (LP), in 2010.
The Compass VA provides physicians with an immediate pressure measurement during the insertion of a central venous catheter. This confirms whether the catheter has been correctly inserted into a vein rather than an artery, reducing the risk of potentially serious injuries or death. The Compass LP provides a similarly unambiguous display during the insertion of a lumbar puncture needle.
Dr. Julie Brown of Seattle Children’s Research Institute received a $150,000 commercialization grant during 2010 from Washington’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund to conduct clinical trials using the Compass LP.
Mirador took the Compass VA and LP from conceptualization to FDA approval in under a year, at a cost of less than $1M and a single round of funding.
WRF Capital was the largest investor in Mirador, which was acquired by Centurion Medical Products in 2014.