As a researcher at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, Cor Drost knew there needed to be a better way to measure flow for the animal studies he was conducting.
“Most people doing research are interested in volume flow,” he said.
Drost devised a device to measure volume flow, and “after several iterations, found measurement accuracy.” With the new device in hand, Drost founded Transonic Systems in 1983 with the hope of bringing the patented technology to a wider audience.
“Once we got to market, we found we were being steered toward the human market. Doctors were doing animal studies, but they wanted to use the technology in procedures with their human patients as well,” he said.
An engineer by trade, Drost and his team have grown Transonic into a $20 million company with subsidiaries in Japan, Taiwan and the Netherlands. The company has launched several successful product lines to improve the measurement of patient cardiac output and dialysis access flow and oxygenator blood volume and clotting during ECMO through innovation.
“We had to come up with ways to modify the flowsensors to be used in acute applications. To do that, we designed things over and over again, let users play with it, give suggestions and make changes to come up with a good stable measurement approach,” he said of Transonic’s success.
Now, Drost’s flow measurement technology he pioneered at Cornell has become the worldwide gold standard for measuring flow, and millions of flow measurements have been made using Transonic’s technology.
As Transonic innovated, the company saw an opportunity to collaborate with others to put its flow measurement technology in a variety of medical devices, and Transonic’s OEM business was born.
“It was the logical progression of things,” Drost said. “Transonic is a born innovator and the OEM devices combine our technology with other measurement technologies.”
Transonic’s expertise is what sets our company apart, Drost says.
“When you come to us for your OEM needs, you get an expert engineering team on board, not just to duplicate past products, but to learn your needs and work with you through a co-engineering program that will bring true innovation to your technology and device,” he said.
