For our February Member Spotlight, we talked to Centese, an early-stage medical device company that was founded to help patients recover from surgery faster and with fewer complications.
Tell us about Centese.
Centese is an early-stage medical device company that was founded to help patients recover from surgery faster and with fewer complications. The company is a spin-out of TheraNova, a medtech incubator in San Francisco.
What products do you offer?
Centese has developed Thoraguard, a digital drainage system for patients following heart and lung surgery that provides objective measurements for clinical decision making and prevents fluid accumulation in the chest. Its key features include precision fluid measurements with AI-enabled analytics, portability for early patient ambulation, and automated drainage management for superior performance. The clinical benefits of these features include shorter lengths of stay and fewer complications for patients and reduced costs for hospitals.
Why is Nebraska an important location for Centese?
Nebraska has been a fantastic location for Centese because it has the resources necessary to build a medtech company, including technical and operational talent, at a fraction of the cost of more traditional medtech hubs like San Francisco. As a result, we have been able to run very lean and achieve more progress than would be possible elsewhere on the same amount of capital.
How many employees does Centese have and what are their roles? Â
In Nebraska, we have 11 employees across engineering, operations, and manufacturing, with 2 other remote employees focused on sales and clinical efforts.
Who are your customers?
In preparation for a full commercial launch later this year, we have enrolled 10 hospitals as pilot partners to build clinical evidence and establish relationships with KOLs in the field. We have focused on large academic surgical centers that carry significant influence in the field, including 5 of the top 12 hospitals in the country.
Anything else you’d like to include?
We are currently raising our Series B round to fund Thoraguard’s full commercial launch, advanced product development, and ongoing clinical studies to further demonstrate its positive impact on patient recovery.