Mann Parikh, founder of NerView Surgical, won second place out of more than 100 student entrepreneurs in the 2024 Enactus Canada National Student Entrepreneurship Competition.
A McMaster University student who dreamed of becoming a surgeon has come second in a national student entrepreneurship competition with a new technology that prevents nerve damage during surgery.
“We learned that there are other ways to improve human health besides studying medicine,” says Man Parikh, founder of NerView Surgical. “We can help people through health innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Parikh, who won second place out of more than 100 student entrepreneurs at the 2024 Enactus Canada National Student Entrepreneurship Competition, is developing a groundbreaking tool that will help surgeons more accurately identify nerves when operating on patients.
Parikh said surgeons can inadvertently damage nerves that are incredibly tiny, located in complex networks and that are different for each patient. NerView uses computer vision, artificial intelligence and optical imaging to help doctors avoid nerve damage that could lead to pain and disability for patients.
“We’re helping surgeons do their jobs better,” Parikh says.
“Faster procedures, more precise procedures, and procedures that are done with the patient in mind, so no dye injections or electrodes to identify nerves, no post-operative care from injuries, it’s really about helping the patient.”
Parikh, an undergraduate student in McMaster University’s Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization (BDC) program, came up with the idea for the startup during his Health Ventures course, where students learn to define problems and design solutions.
“I’m really interested in the intersection of science, business, engineering and research,” Parikh says, “all of these elements coming together in health innovation.”
Parikh was awarded $4,000 by Enactus Canada, a non-profit organization that supports post-secondary students through experiential education and entrepreneurial training programs.
NerView Surgical has attracted attention and interest from some of the world’s most innovative institutions operating in the medical field: the company was selected from 1,400 applicants at the MedTech Innovator 2024 Road Tour in Washington, DC, and placed in the top seven out of 300 applicants and 40 international teams at the TCU Values and Ventures Pitch Competition in Fort Worth, Texas.
The company also won first place in the University of Waterloo’s recent BioTEC 2023 pitch competition and was selected as a finalist in the 2024 Synapse life sciences competition.
In addition to his academic program, Parikh has also been involved in McMaster University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, participating in the Startup Survivor program for four months and winning second place in McMaster University’s Forge Startup Survivor pitch competition.
Parikh also served as a resident and is now returning as a panelist for Clinic @ MAC’s residency program. The nine-month program is aimed at healthcare innovators and offers one-on-one coaching, presentation support, monthly residency rounds, and a demo day where they can present and pitch their ventures.
