Efraín Torres knew from a young age that he was a problem solver. As a first generation Mexican-American growing up on the south side of Chicago, he couldn’t help but see the problems plaguing his community, especially the lack of adequate healthcare. He planned to do something about it.
In high school, he gravitated towards the sciences and spent weekends reading medical journals cover to cover, trying to learn as much as he could in hopes of one day helping. He attended a wealthy high on a scholarship, one of a couple people from his neighborhood. While his home wasn’t far from his new school, he observed an obvious discrepancy in access to quality healthcare and life saving medical technologies. Then, one day at school, a teacher offhandedly told him that engineers solve problem. That’s when it all clicked. Shortly after, he decided to pursue biomedical engineering at Marquette University in Milwaukee Wisconsin. He had some problems in mind that he wanted to solve.
Several hundred miles to the north in Minneapolis, Parker Jenkins was contemplating similar questions about his future. Jenkins lived in the suburbs, but many members of his family lived in remote areas of northern Minnesota on the Canadian border. He was troubled by the fact that residents of these small rural communities couldn’t get the medical attention they needed. If there was an emergency, they were likely three or more hours away from quality care. When he chose to pursue his education at Marquette, it was with the same goal as Torres: to bridge the gaps in healthcare delivery.
Jenkins and Torres met on the first day of classes in what now feels like a predestined event. It didn’t take long to form a friendship as they bonded over their shared desire to impact the healthcare system with the goal of helping underserved communities. It’s that shared passion and longstanding friendship that created the foundation for their groundbreaking company, Adialante.
Innovating Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology
Torres and Jenkins’ interest in MRI and CT technologies led them to graduate studies at the University of Minnesota. It was here that they narrowed their focus and determined exactly how they would disrupt the healthcare industry.
MRI uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate detailed images of the organs and tissues inside the body. This non-invasive procedure is particularly useful for imaging soft tissues, such as the brain, spinal cord, muscles and ligaments, making it valuable for diagnosing conditions like tumors, brain disorders, joint injuries and spinal issues.
Since the introduction of MRI, access to the technology has been widely discrepant between populations. For communities with a lack of healthcare options—both due to geographic and socioeconomic disadvantages—access is incredibly limited. Current MRI machines, which have largely remained unchanged for 40 years, are simply too big and expensive, resulting in inaccessibility for 90% of the world.
This is the problem Torres and Jenkins set out to solve. They encountered widespread confirmation from medical experts about the lack of access and lengthy waiting periods of eight to ten weeks. Their objective was to develop a system that maintained high-quality imaging while being more affordable and easier to deploy. This would require a redesign of the MRI machine from the ground up.
After receiving encouragement from their professor, Michael Garwood, Ph.D., who is now an advisor to their company, the duo made a technology breakthrough that changed the traditional way of constructing MRIs. To create the system, they focused on a new platform of intelligent algorithms that leverages modern computing resources and specific hardware designs. The result is a completely redesigned system that features one-third less hardware, operates silently and consumes about one-tenth of the power of traditional models. The new system is 10 times smaller in size and promises to be significantly less expensive than current scanners, potentially offering an option that is affordable and compact, all while aiming to deliver the same image resolution.
Since launching the company two years ago, Torres and Jenkins have achieved several impressive milestones, including raising $1.5M in seed funding from the University of Minnesota, the state of Minnesota, the National Science Foundation and angel investors.
The role of Fogarty Innovation
Torres and Jenkins connected with Fogarty Innovation through mutual acquaintances involved in the budding ecosystem for medical devices in Minneapolis. Attracted by Fogarty’s reputation and expertise in supporting early-stage medtech companies, they quickly decided to join the organization’s Company Accelerator Program (CAP). The partnership has already proven to be pivotal in their journey.
“We are two young individuals with a strong desire to make a large impact in healthcare accessibility,” said Torres. “We knew we could really benefit from the organization’s expertise, and that they would give us the best chance at succeeding.”
Looking ahead
As Torres and Jenkins work to further their innovation and secure additional grants and funding, they are gearing up for the next phase of growth. Their immediate goals include demonstrating clinical efficacy and obtaining FDA clearance, which will be crucial for moving towards Series A funding.
In addition to benefiting from FI’s expertise, both founders say they are grateful for the help they’ve received from the local medtech ecosystem. “We’ve had many people and organizations support us, which really helps validate the direction we are taking,” said Parker. “There’s a lot of encouragement and collaboration; it has really been a team effort.”