FloPillow
FloMatrix
Floramp PIVC
Fluid is directed away from the vein wall due to our ramped design and instead, into the middle of the venous blood flow.
Competitor PIVC
Fluid is infused out of the PIVC tip and forced along the vein wall due to the straight internal edges of tip.
Validation
Simple Design
Effective Solution
Compared against a market leading device.
All data published in The Journal of Vascular Access.
No Blockages
40% of BD Insyte devices blocked after 24 hours. Similar percentage of those that fail in clinical practice.
Lower VIP Score
VIP Score is a visual scored of redness (phlebitis) around the catheter and is used clinically to access device failure.
Less Internal damage
Supported by histopathological findings.
REGULATORY PATHWAY
Straight Forward
Regulatory Pathway
No new regulatory application is needed for the FloRamp
An existing IV catheter manufacturer may not require a new 510(k) application to integrate the FloRamp IP into their existing IV catheter range.
FloRamp can potentially be on the market within months, significantly reducing cost and risk.
About
Flomatrix was formed in 2018 and is a Brisbane based medical technology company. We are committed to developing novel IV catheter tip technology, aimed to reduce the unacceptable high failure rates experienced when the IV cannula is dwelling in the vein. Our patented designs dramatically reduce the mechanical forces acting on the vein that contribute to inflammation and subsequent blockages. Flomatrix’s mission is to not only improve the successful clinical dwell time of IV cannulas, but also reduce the significant costs associated with high failure rates and reduce the number of painful insertions that a patient may experience.
Leadership
Caroline co-founded Flomatrix with Barry in 2018. She is a registered nurse BN, RN with an MBA from the University of Queensland. Caroline has previous management experience and has successfully led Flomatrix since 2018. Flomatrix was accepted into the MedTech Actuator (Australia’s leading health tech commercialisation accelerator). Caroline previously worked as a senior project manager for the AVATAR Group, managing various vascular access clinical trials at a major tertiary hospital in Brisbane. The AVATAR Group is a well-known world-class research group, focussed on improving vascular access outcomes for all patients. Caroline has an in-depth clinical knowledge of catheters and the reasons catheters fail too early, as well as knowledge of the commercialisation process of a medical device. Caroline is also a co-author of a number of vascular access publications, both with the AVATAR Group and Flomatrix.
Barry co-founded Flomatrix with Caroline and has a deep technical understanding of catheters, as well as the knowledge needed to design medical devices and bring them through regulatory approvals. Barry graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (1st Class Hons) in 2005 and a PhD in 2009, both in biomedical engineering from the University of Limerick, Ireland. He has worked in the area of cardiovascular biomechanics since. Barry is an internationally-recognised academic with over 170 publications and over 55 major awards to his research group, the Vascular Engineering Laboratory (VascLab) at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research (The Perkins). He recently moved to an Adjunct Associate Professor position at UWA in order to focus more time on commercialising new medical devices, and remains as Lab Head of VascLab at the Perkins. He has experience and expertise across a wide range of cardiovascular diseases and related medical devices, from physical medical devices to biomaterials and software as a medical device (SaMD). Barry is a named inventor on 3 patents, founded a spin-out company from the UWA/Perkins called Navier Medical Ltd, won the WA Innovator of the Year (2021) and most recently won the Australian Patients Association ‘Most Outstanding Patient Innovation’ (2022). Barry is an invited Fellow of the Australian Institute of Engineers (FIEAust) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
James (Jim) Kalokerinos has over thirty-five years’ experience in sales, marketing, and business development. He has worked with chemical, laboratory distribution, in-vitro diagnostics and medical devices companies and has held senior management and board positions in Australia and internationally. Jim was a co-founder of three successful companies – Techlab Enterprises, Pacific Diagnostics (sold to NYSE listed Baxter International), and Panbio Ltd (ASX: PBO, sold to NYSE listed Alere). He has held various company directorships for over thirty years, presently serving on three boards (InterHealthcare Pty Ltd, ProGel Pty Ltd, and PERKii Pty Ltd). Jim has held board and advisory positions with life science and technology-based companies in early stage, and during commercialisation and growth. For the past twelve years he has also been an active angel investor and mentor to various early-stage companies. Jim holds a B App. Sc (USQ); B Econ (UQ); and is a Fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors FAICD.
Anabela is an experienced CEO and entrepreneur, having worked in teams to secure capital, deliver device and diagnostic technologies to market and negotiated successful agreements with multinational device and pharmaceutical companies. She was raised by entrepreneurial parents and learned from an early age to manage staff, budgets and grow commercial assets. Also from an early age, Anabela developed a keen interest in human health and holds three medical/research degrees including a PhD in Medicine. Anabela has combined her business acumen and passion for medical technologies in roles including technology transfer, R&D tax, venture capital and as a corporate advisor. Anabela is currently CEO of Inner Maven Pty Ltd, and brought LiVac Retractror to market via Livac Pty Ltd. The LiVac Retractor is the only commercially available retractor that can retract the liver (required to allow access to the surgical field) using suction from above. The LiVac Retractor is distributed throughout Europe and Australia and soon to be available in Korea and the US (April/May 2020).
Named as one of the top 10 young business leaders in Australia and previously in the top 30 entrepreneurs under 30, Ryan is an experienced healthcare executive and entrepreneur across both the Corporate and Start Up space. Living in London, Ryan is the head of Strategy & Implementation of the speciality business portfolio with BUPA and undergoing an executive MBA with the University of Cambridge. Ryan also sits on the board of directors as a co-founder of PHW Group, an Occupational health company and Health 2 You, a home and community healthcare company. In addition, he has previously co-founded and successfully exited the healthcare clinic business - Healthlogic.
Clinical Advisors
Peter Carr is a vascular access clinician and academic researcher focusing on improving patient outcomes with intravenous catheters. Dr Carr marries over 20 years of clinical experience with vascular access and infusion therapy with a strong clinical research program focuses on reducing insertion and post insertion failure rates of vascular access devices. He is an advocate for better clinical trial design in vascular access and the importance of better evidence for vascular access devices and technologies. Dr Carr works for the University of Galway where he is Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. He collaborates with leading international agencies to improve vascular access outcomes.
Samantha Keogh is a Professor at QUT’s School of Nursing and Centre for Healthcare Transformation, as well as a Senior Researcher with the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATAR). Her clinical background is in intensive care (adult and paediatric), so she understands the importance of vascular access to deliver essential drugs, fluids and blood products, as well as facilitate vital monitoring and sampling. Samantha and her colleagues’ research and teaching is aimed at promoting safety and excellence in vascular access to optimise patient outcomes. Professor Keogh is Editor for the Australian Critical Care Journal and peer reviewer for several other professional journals. Further Professor Keogh also contributes to the development and updates of clinical standards including Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare (ACSQHC) and Infusion Nurses Society (INS), and was the President of the Australian Vascular Access Society.