DEARBORN ? Ypsilanti-based De Novo Sciences, a company developing an alternative to traditionally painful and invasive biopsies, won the $500,000 grand prize Thursday night at the $1 million Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition.
Runner-up was Fusion Coolant Systems Inc., a company spun out of the University of Michigan that provides an advanced coolant and lubrication system for use in manufacturing.
A total of 53 companies, 24 student business ideas, and 42 venture and angel investment groups participated in the event.
Winning $25,000 sector awards were the following companies:
* Life Sciences, Ocusciences Inc., a medical diagnostic device company commercializing a rapid, non-invasive test for early detection of retinal disease.
* Medical Devices, Advanced Cooling Therapy LLC, a company developing improved methods to control patient temperature in order to more effectively implement mild therapeutic hypothermia and treat fever.
* Advanced Materials, InfiChem Polymers LLC, a company formed in 2009 to commercialize its proprietary chemical process for recycling of polyurethane scrap destined for landfills into InfiGreen polyol products that are used in the production of new polyurethanes.
* Advanced Manufacturing, ePack Inc., a company developing advanced packaging materials for electronic sensors intended for harsh environments.
* Alternative Energy, Grid Logic, a company introducing a small, low-cost, high-field magnet for wind power applications, commercializing superconducting technology originating at Stanford University.
* Advanced Transportation, ENRG Power Systems LLC, a 2-year-old Michigan company established to manufacture and market an easy-to-install ignition coil system which improves spark ignition engine fuel economy.
* Defense and homeland security, H3D Inc., which is commercializing a new three-dimensional radiation imaging technology developed at the University of Michigan Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences. Unlike detection systems on the market today, H3D?s technology can be packaged in a handheld device and operate at room temperature while providing the ability to visualize, in real time, the precise location and isotopic composition of radioactive materials.
* IT, I3D Technologies Inc., a software company in Ann Arbor that provides clean water management tools.
* Products and services, Llamasoft, an Ann Arbor supply chain management software developer.
The $10,000 People?s Choice award went to Shoulder Innovations LLC, a design and development company focused on providing shoulder replacement implants with superior durability and which are easier for surgeons to implant.
And a $25,000 Encore Award for the best startup proposed by someone over 50 years of age, sponsored by AARP, went to NextGen Metabolomics, developing new technology to automate the measurement of metabolites from samples such as cells, biopsies, urine or blood.
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