NUA Surgical is a Galway based, start-up company dedicated to innovating in women’s health. The company, which is a spin-out from the University of Galway and BioInnovate Ireland, was founded in 2019 by Barry McCann (CEO), Marie-Therese Maher (COO) and Padraig Maher (CTO). They have developed the patented SteriCISIONTM C-section retractor, which aims to improve access and visualisation during caesarean surgery and provide multiple benefits to clinicians, patients and healthcare systems.

Read the full case study here https://hih.ie/downloads/case-studies/HIHI-case-study_NuaSurgical.pdf

The Enterprise Ireland backed high potential start-up has been recognised nationally and internationally with multiple awards for its innovative approach to improving maternal health outcomes. These include overall winner of IntertradeIreland Seedcorn Competition (2020), EIT Health Headstart winner (2020), Parkview Health Global Maternal Health Innovation winner (2021), and overall winner at the National Start-Up Awards (2022).

NUA Surgical’s SteriCISIONTM retractor has been designed alongside obstetricians to answer their unmet needs when performing a caesarean delivery. It will provide superior access to the uterus, enabling hands free management of the surgical incision space and therefore reducing the opportunity for bacteria transfer into the wound. The self-retaining retractor will be provided as a sterile, single use disposable device which is also important to reduce the risk of infection.

Its ergonomic design enables easy, safe and fast retraction, mimicking the natural hand movements of the obstetrician and the soft-touch adjustable paddles cater for their visualization needs on each patient’s anatomy. Ultimately, SteriCISIONTM will provide suitable access and visualization for clinicians to safely deliver the baby, identify any bleeds and repair the uterus in a time-sensitive surgery.

Speaking on completion of the case study Barry McCann CEO of Nua Surgical spoke about working with HIHI.

“The insights are invaluable! We are grateful for the support of the HIHI team and are excited to be involved with their FemTech programme moving forward.”