Madison-based medical technology company
Craniosure is the winner of this year's Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Competition.
Dr. Daniel Chodesigned a mobile app that can screen infants' head shapes and detect craniosynostosis early to avoid the need for surgery. Cho is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and specializes in adult and pediatric plastic surgery. Designed by a team that includes craniofacial plastic surgeons, the CranioSure app can detect premature skull fusion in infants. The app's algorithms can find abnormalities with greater specificity and sensitivity than a physical exam. Once the app is fully developed, it will be made available to pediatricians and parents. At this year's Governor's Business Plan Competition, a panel of judges heard presentations from 12 other finalists in four categories. CranioSure won in the Life Sciences category. Other category winners included:
- Based in Madison Spray Cut (Advanced Manufacturing): Founder, Spraycision Dervis Gursoyis an agricultural sensor system used for spraying orchards. It can be retrofitted to traditional sprayers and uses LiDAR technology to automatically select the canopies and open spaces to treat. Not only does it reduce chemical costs and usage, it also reduces water and fuel usage. The company's first unit was sold to a 20,000-acre almond farm in California.
- Based in Pewaukee Rockhopper Ice Collective (Business Services): Founder, Rockhopper Ice Collective Daniel Guntherenables businesses to offer multiple types of ice, including flakes, cubes, pebbles and custom shapes, from a single machine. Businesses using the Rockhopper platform can increase customer satisfaction and increase profits through increased beverage sales and customer visits.
- Based in Dodgeville script (Information Technology): The startup's “WriteStories” platform is a software-as-a-service platform that engages elementary school children in creative writing in the classroom and with their families. The platform allows children to choose a storybook from a curated online library and view illustrations with the text of the original story removed. Children write their own creative stories to go with the pictures and share the resulting e-books with friends, teachers, and family. The company Bob Wood.
Rockhopper Ice Collective also received the Bright New Idea award for 2024. Sponsors of the Governor's Business Bread Contest are providing cash, office space, legal assistance, accounting, information technology consulting, marketing, event space and more to support this year's winners. WEDC is the major sponsor of the contest.
