Medical Acoustics
Industry-University Collaboration Brings Success
Buffalo-based Medical Acoustics distributes the Lung Flute, a hand-held device that employs sound waves to help people suffering from respiratory illnesses, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Popular Science magazine listed it as one the top 100 innovations of 2009; it appeared on national TV in 2010; and the company began shipping orders to the U.S. hospital market in November with plans for Europe and Asia. The company’s success came from its partnership with UB.
“UB has made all the difference,” says company CEO Frank Codella. The inventor of the Lung Flute was from New York City and the company worked with some institutions there, however Codella said the resources and attention from UB “far exceed anything we received from the folks in New York.”
Since its founding in 2002, the firm has collaborated with the UB Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR), the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and the UB Center for Advanced Biomedical and Bioengineering Technology (UB CAT).
The collaborators are proud that their work is contributing to the growth of Western New York’s innovation economy. “It’s something everyone’s so conscious of—the need to create employment opportunities here,” Codella says. “When you can create a business and create good jobs, there’s a real sense of accomplishment.”
