Balch Hill Medical

Balch Hill Medical is a life science technology and product commercialization company founded by an experienced group of medical, scientific and business experts who have polled their expertise to identify promising technologies and bring them to the medical device and life science market. Balch Hill Medical reviews dozens of projects and products each year to determine which have the potential to have a substantial market impact. Balch Hill Medical specializes in assisting technology development and commercialization, including:

  • Market size and competitive analysis

  • Strength of the intellectual property

  • Public and private insurance reimbursement status and levels

  • Access to manufacturing

  • FDA approval process

  • Potential sales and distribution partners

  • International markets

  • Growth opportunities and exit strategies

If a technology, an idea or a product passes Balch Hill Medical's intake criteria, it becomes an active company project that will be guided through FDA approval, CE Mark approval, Medicare reimbursement, clinical trials (if necessary), marketing studies, focus groups, pre-production engineering, prototyping and sales.  Allyon has established an incubator relationship with Balch Hill Medical and is assisting in the development of Precision Thread. PrecisionThread is a novel catheter system that addresses the main causes of failed intravenous (IV) catheter insertions: shortfalls and blowouts. Shortfalls occur when the needle has penetrated the target vessel, but the shorter tip of the catheter has not entered the vessel completely.  Blowouts are a result of the sharp beveled tip of the insertion needle puncturing the back wall of the target vessel, leading to a painful hematoma.

The failure rate for IV catheter placements in the US is over 35%.   Precision Thread’s innovative design is expected to reduce the failure rate to less than 10%.  The US market for IV catheters is over $1.5B per year, so PrecisionThread’s effectiveness will have a significant effect on reducing costs.  PrecisionThread dramatically decreases the number of failed insertions based on two unique design features, its notch and rounded heel. The notch is located in the catheter tip and allows blood to flow back through the catheter hub, telling the clinician that the catheter has entered the target vessel securely and thus prevents a shortfall.  The tip of PrecisionThread is rounded, creating a slightly curved needle. After the needle has been inserted, the round heel hits the back wall of the vessel and reduces greatly the risk of a painful blowout.

PrecisionThread’s catheter offers many advantages because of the simplicity of its design.  It is easily manufactured with existing technology, and requires no changes in clinicians’ current insertion technique.  The PrecisionThread IV catheter system improves patient comfort, while reducing costs and waste.

Christopher Wiley, Ph.D – Founder and Chairman – Wiley is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Dartmouth Medical School, and attending physician at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.  He has invented several medical devices designed to improve diagnostics and therapeutics.

Martin Doyle – President and CEO, Balch Hill Medical– Doyle most recently served as President and COO of Greystone Pharmaceuticals.  Prior to Greystone, he founded a diagnostic ultrasound company to create the first PC-based ultrasound system.  He has over 20 years of experience managing emerging life science companies, and is a guest lecturer at the Tuck School of Business.