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l ‘ ,." ‘ ". -‘ 7| i l l\!."l’."i‘v "'7“ "*-“ l ‘ .. ,, . ,......,._ . ‘l I2-\\ \llKl()Ul"RUN“l.li0\i\‘t1|ilt'stltlyltll\ so an i _ ‘ ‘ I l El t . i CV21 01‘ l C ‘ l o n a o o o o l ; Unwersrty of Waterloo alum competes m busmess pitch competition ' l Bv PAIGE Demos") E was born. 1 (-llru'lu’lt’5l‘l/7 . ‘ a Pelt/Assist. patent-pending. is currently ‘ ', E being developed. Bakirtzian said he was I venir Medical (“o-founder Armen § excited about the prospect of helping peo- 1 Bakirtvian knows the value of an ele ‘ ple and combining his training. I ‘i valor pitch for business, and be > “The (surgery) numbers are so big that i recently ptit his to the test as a finalist in it's hard to find someone who hasn't had a l l Visas Canada's longest elevator pitclt cont» v ., . hip surgery done and hasn't had a problem," } petition ; Bakinzian said. ‘ Five finalists competed in an elevator in “ ' a 1'»; ’ 3 Bakinzian said Avemir Medical’s research Toronto's ()ne King West Hotel and Resi- ;. _ g . ,2 3‘ ‘ supports the need for the device and he’s dences July 12, in art attempt to win a ‘ “A j . Q: hoping it will not only be successful for $0,000 Visa business credit for their small I 3 “1, £31; surgeons' use but also for teaching hospiv business. oi q . Â¥ mtg}, tals. Bakinzian said be practiced a lot prior to ' g t _ He said fitting a replacement hip into the ‘ the competition. but was a little nervous ' J “2“" socket is the most difficult pan of hip sur‘ once he got in the elevator with a sound per. 7 4 J gery. ‘ son. camera operator and four expert \ ' ' ( With Pelt/Assist. he said students would . i judges. v t’ ,. be able to learn how to properly perform the ' ‘ “It was packed close in the elevator.”,he ‘ L. \ . , procedure. " said. \ The device was designed keeping the “ But Bakirtzian nailed the timefranie. ‘ welfare of patients in mind i i “They told us we had 60 seconds from . 171.3: f O - “Our most imponant design element is i the time the elevator doors closed to when if} ‘fl‘r‘f‘ . 7 not to add time to surgery," Bakinzian said. I we got out." Bakirtzian said. “It was a great \V‘, ' it :1' And the company has been getting plen- 1 experience. l 5 1. ‘ . ty of attention for its innovation. . 1 “It kind of forced us to polish our elevator ' ' In 2010, Avenir Medical won top hon- t pitch." . :3 ours at the Ontario next top young entrepre~ 1 Unfortunately for Bakirtzian. he didn't ‘ _ neur start»up pitch competition. have the winning pitch. The honour went to . _ ‘_ , F3 - The competition was held as part of Dis- ‘ Anna-Maria Mountlort of Toronto for her ,'1 “1‘s ‘3. covery 2010. organized by Ontario Centres i pitch about mimiTliNSâ€" a children's mitten ii i * " of Excellence at the Metro Tomnto Conven- } line. 1i" _ “9;! tion Centre. 1 Ayenir Medical is funded by a combina- is . In December of the same year. Bakirtzian i tion of public and private sources. Bakinz- was nominated for the Greater Kitchener- l ian said. Waterloo Chamber of Commerce young While the company could have used the entrepreneur ofthe year award. ('21in for development. Bakinzian is taking it With success after success. Bakirtzian all in stride . . . . . . . said he and the co-lounders are not letting it "We were lucky to be selected." Baltirtz- Arman Bakinzian, left, With Avenir Medical (ofounders Richard Fanson and Andy; gmg‘mo go to their heads. iaii said. “We learned to bemore practiced." He said not many people achieve so Baltirtrian colourided his company with years after the project started. surgeons usually “eyeball" positioning for much success at the age ol25. straight out of fellou University of Waterloo grads Richard The mechatronics engineering (robotics: hip surgeryâ€" leading to 3 per cent of the 1 school, with their own business in their field .- l anwn and Andre llladio in lbelr fourth students approached Baltirtzian's father. an million hip surgeries in North America every OfSlUdY- war ol university, The company grew out of orthopedic surgeon when they were debatr year requiring follow-up surgery. according "It's been a htimbling experience." .i school design project. ing what their project should be. to Bakirtzian~ the idea for a device that Bakinzian said. “We're just so thankful to be lllt‘ company incorporated in 20”). 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