Vinay Sakhrani, M.S., VP of Technology
I started TriboFilm Research along with my mentor at NC State, Dr. Jerome (Jerry) Cuomo, a 30-year veteran of IBM Research, and distinguished National Medal of Technology laureate with 200+ patents to his name. Now strengthened by fellow alumni of Dr. Cuomo’s lab, Dr. Dan Jonsen and Dr. Jackson Thornton, we are proud to launch StaClearTM, the first low-particulate syringe designed in collaboration with the ophthalmic industry.
We are grateful to the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health for funding this breakthrough research, helping us take StaClearTM from lab to market-ready product. The mission of the SBIR program is “to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of Federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy.” After 4 years of hard work in our labs in Raleigh, North Carolina, we are proud to bring to life a technical breakthrough poised to have a significant human and financial impact on our country and our fellow citizens. StaClearTM can save Medicare billions, improve patient safety, and reduce healthcare costs, and we couldn’t have hoped for a better partner than the NIH in helping bring this innovative syringe to market.
Connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinaysakhrani or use our contact form to get in touch if you have any questions.
Jackson Thornton, PhD., Director of Research
I led the development of StaClear along with Vinay Sakhrani. Our work at TriboFilm Research reduces product recall risk and improves patient safety. When your work directly impacts medical devices that save lives, it’s easy to be motivated!
Millions of patients must get an injection in their eye (or both eyes) once a month or every two months to prevent them from going blind. StaClearTM will make that eye injection safer because unlike other syringes, it is designed and carefully manufactured specifically for intravitreal use. With lower particulates, it will prevent numerous patient complications, such as floaters in the eye, that cause pain and suffering in the patients who rely on these injections to keep their vision.
Dan Jonsen, PhD., Principal Scientist, Quality Assurance
I oversee our quality management system for StaClearTM and make sure it meets and exceeds all regulatory requirements. For over 20 years, I have been designing, constructing, optimizing and automating equipment and processes for multiple advanced surface engineering applications in the medical device, semiconductor, aerospace, pharmaceutical, packaging, and many other industries.
I’m excited to be part of the StaClearTM team because our product solves a pressing problem for patients that require intraocular injections. By ‘fixing’ the silicone oil on to the walls of our syringe using a proprietary Atmospheric Gas Plasma Technology, StaClearTM promises to make it safer to inject sight-saving drugs intravitreally.
Jerome J. Cuomo, PhD. Board Chair, TriboFilm Research
After 30 years at IBM, I came to North Carolina to start a new phase in my life as a Distinguished Research Professor in the Materials Science & Engineering Department at North Carolina State University. There, I met Vinay Sakhrani, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Though I co-invented and helped commercialized multi-million dollar projects at IBM and helped start multiple companies, I am especially proud of the launch of StaClear.TM