Arbutus Medical
When it comes to innovation, sometimes less is more. Just ask Lawrence Buchan. In 2014, with fellow biomedical engineers Marianne Black, Michael Cancilla, Florin Gheorghe and Elise Huisman, Buchan was part of a group of UBC students asked to create a safe, inexpensive drill for orthopedic surgeons in Uganda. The team fashioned a cover that creates a sterile envelope around an off-the-shelf hardware drill.
Then they realized they could help combat a global health-care crisis. “Five billion people don't have access to safe surgery,” Buchan says. “Two of those five billion people don't have access to any surgery at all.”
So the five launched Arbutus Medical, which focuses on what it calls frugal innovation–“coming up with simple products that can improve access to technology and, ultimately, access to safe surgical care for patients,” CEO Buchan explains.
Starting with its patented Drillcover technology, the Vancouver company has expanded its line of devices, shipping products capable of treating 53,000 human and 38,000 animal patients in 39 countries.
Along the way, Arbutus Medical has collaborated with major international aid groups. It's also worked in Haiti, Tanzania and Uganda to bring access to safe orthopedic surgeries, providing training and support as well as tools.
Arbutus Medical is busy in its own backyard, too, Buchan notes. “We're working with a number of different trauma centres, in particular in North America, to help them improve their operational efficiency and manage costs.”
The 15-employee company aims to have several frugal innovation platforms–and to help enable five million surgeries by 2030. “We know that's going to be very challenging to do on our own,” Buchan says. “So we're committed to doing it in partnership with amazing health-care providers all around the world.”