Madison-based medtech company
CranioSure is the winner of this year’s Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
The startup, founded by
Dr. Daniel Cho, has designed a mobile app that screens infant head shapes and can detect craniosynostosis early enough to avoid the need for surgery. Cho is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madsion. He specializes in adult and pediatric plastic surgery.
Designed by a team that included craniofacial plastic surgeons, the CranioSure app can detect the premature fusion of infant skull bones. The app’s algorithm can spot abnormalities with more specificity and sensitivity than physical exams. Once fully developed, the app will become available to pediatricians and parents.
A panel of judges heard pitches from 12 other finalists in four categories during this year’s Governor's Business Plan Contest. CranioSure won the life sciences category. Additional category winners include:
- Madison-based Spraycision (advanced manufacturing): Spraycision, founded by Dervis Gursoy, is an agricultural sensor system used in orchard spray applications. It retrofits to conventional sprayers and automatically selects tree canopies for treatment versus open space by using LiDAR technology. It can reduce chemical cost and use as well as cutting use of water and fuel. The company’s first unit was sold to a 20,000-acre almond farm in California.
- Pewaukee-based Rockhopper Ice Collective (business services): Rockhopper Ice Collective, founded by Daniel Guenther, allows businesses to serve multiple types of ice from a single machine, including flakes, cubes, pebbles, custom shapes and more. Businesses that use the Rockhopper platform can boost customer satisfaction and drive profit through more drink sales and customer visits.
- Dodgeville-based Scriptive (information technology): The startup's “WriteStories” platform is a software-as-a-service creative writing platform for elementary-age children in classrooms and families. It allows them to choose a picture book from a curated online library and see its illustrations with the former story text removed. Children then write their own creative story to match the pictures and share the resulting eBook with friends, teachers and family. The company was founded by Bob Wood.
Rockhopper Ice Collective also won the 2024 Bright New Idea award. Sponsors of the Governor's Business Pan Contest are contributing cash, office space, legal assistance, accounting, information technology consulting, marketing, event space and more to support this year's winners. WEDC is a major sponsor of the contest.
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