A North Vancouver company hopes to change the future of dental surgery.
Udi Daon, founder and CEO of Navi Dent, says his new technology allows dental surgeons to see their operations in three dimensions and in real time as they are happening.
The idea is good enough that Navi Dent has been shortlisted as a top-10 finisher in the New Ventures Competition.
The New Ventures Competition, largely sponsored by the British Columbia Innovations Council, is designed to help new B.C.-based technology companies get education and mentorship. Some will win cash prizes.
The competition began in April with 146 companies who have been getting education seminars relevant to technology startups.
"The top 25 companies have also been given three mentors per company as well as additional feedback from mentors and jury members," said Angie Schick, program manager for the New Ventures Competition.
Daon, who started Navi Dent slightly more than a year ago, has made it though three rounds of jury-judged competition and made his final presentation to a jury of judges on Thursday.
"I'm not that nervous because I know my material, I guess the normal performance anxiety," said Daon last week.
Daon, a newcomer to Canada, says the competition has allowed him to network and work with mentors on business plans and investor pitches.
He said that winning would mean the world to him.
"As a starving startup, which most startups are, any infusion of cash is blessed. But regardless of that, I think it is going to be a tremendous push to our success to win because by then we will have been validated so many times."
Daon said his technology uses an image created by a Cone Beam CT scan to make a three dimensional image of a person's mouth before surgery. Then, filming the dentist and the patient's mouth while the surgery is happening, a live image of the surgery is shown on a monitor.
Daon said he will be conducting a clinical scenario with his technology by the end of the month.
He hopes that his new technology will make dental surgery less expensive, less risky and faster.
Schick says the companies have been growing and improving since April, especially Navi Dent.
"They're on the upswing for sure, I think they've improved steadily in terms of jury reception with each round. And entrepreneur Daon has a really good reputation, so I would say he's got just as good a chance as some of the other strong companies," Schick said.
The winners will be announced at an award ceremony on Sept. 26 and will share more than $230,000 in cash and prizes.
