Frederick R. McCoy

Hutchinson Technology, Inc. engages in the design and manufacture of products that require chemical, mechanical, and electronic technologies. It offers optical image stabilization, custom precision components, screens, circuits, micro assembly, hard disk drive suspensions, and sensors. The company was founded by Jon A. Geiss and Jeffrey W. Green in 1965 and is headquartered in Hutchinson, MN.

Guidant Corp. manufactures cardiovascular therapeutic devices. The company also provides cardiac and peripheral vascular repair surgical systems. It operates in Europe and Japan. Guidant was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in St. Paul, MN.

Synecor LLC (Synecor) is a venture capital firm founded in 2000 by Richard S. Stack, William N. Starling, and Judith L. Swain. The firm is headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Hybritech, Inc. provides prostate diagnostic testing services. The company is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

Part of Boston Scientific Corp., Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. is a company that specializes in implanting pacemakers in patients with an abnormally low heart rate. The company is based in St. Paul, MN. The pacemakers are implanted under the skin, in the chest area, and are connected to the heart by transvenous leads that conduct electrical impulses to pace the heart and restore a normal heart rhythm. Patients implanted with a pacemaker must be regularly monitored by their cardiologist to ensure that the pacing system is working correctly. The company was founded by Manny A. Villafana.

Since 1939, the Minnesota Medical Foundation has been raising and managing private gifts that expand what's possible in health and medical research, education, and care at the University of Minnesota. MMF also provides philanthropic counsel to the University of Minnesota Medical Center on matters related to the partnership between the University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Physicians, and Fairview Health Services.

TransEnterix is advancing the field of minimally invasive surgery through exploration, innovation and collaboration. Based in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park, TransEnterix is a rapidly growing medical device company founded in 2006. Since its inception the company has designed, received FDA approval and launched the groundbreaking SPIDER Surgical System, which provides surgeons with enhanced capabilities by creating triangulation via single site access with flexible articulating instruments. The platform enables a whole new class of less invasive surgery - Flexible Laparoscopy - which builds on the proven technologies of laparoscopic surgery and catheter based medical treatments.

NeuroTronik, Inc. develops medical technology for commercial operations. The company is headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC.

Physcient, Inc. develops robotic surgical instruments. It offers surgical retractor for use in thoracic and cardio-thoracic surgery. The company was founded by Hugh C. Crenshaw and Charles A. Pell and is headquartered in Durham, NC.