[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/MacStartUpChallenge09.jpg” caption=”Winners of the McMaster Start-Up Challenge are pictured with competition judges and presenters. Pictured (front row from left): second-place winners Cristian Nunez, Liquid Fibre Display and Tim Pryor, Digital Dash with winner Terry Sachlos, Orthios. Photo courtesy of Engineering.”]Faster healing, customizable tactile displays and more efficient video signage were the three start-up business ideas that most impressed judges at the inaugural McMaster Start-Up Challenge.

The judges from industry, government and academia were pitched by 35 start-up companies during the day-long event held at McMaster University. Nine of the start-up ideas made it through the morning elimination rounds to qualify for the afternoon's final competition.

Orthios took first place and the $7,000 prize as the overall winner. The company was created by Terry Sachlos, a post-doctoral fellow in the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, and Pina D'Agostino, a professor of intellectual property at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, founded the company.

In an unusual twist, two start-ups tied for second place. Each was able to receive the $5,000 second prize thanks to a $2,000 contribution from the Ontario Centres of Excellence.

Digital Dash, established by Tim Pryor, is developing touch-based display technology that allows for customizable dashboards, medical equipment and sound mixing boards. Liquid Fibre Displays, led by Cristian Nunez, Nimesh Bahl and Professor Adrian Kitai, is developing energy and cost-efficient hybrid fibre-optic/LED indoor video display signage. Both are projects developed through the Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Orthios and Liquid Fibre Display were also selected winners of free space at the McMaster Innovation Park.

The three entries that will qualify for the LaunchPad $50K regional competition in May have yet to be determined.

Judges and organizers of the event were impressed by the quantity and quality of the competitors. Entries represented a wide area of sectors including health care, electronics, services, materials and manufacturing, environment, and entertainment.

The McMaster Start-Up Challenge was organized by the Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation and sponsored by the Office of Research and International Affairs at McMaster.

More information can be found at: www.mcmasterchallenge.com
.