Ximedica LLC, a Providence, R.I.-based medical device developer, is branching out.
COO Dan Reifsteck told MassDevice that the company has added 30 people in last 15 months. Reifsteck forecasts a personnel growth rate of up 20 percent in the foreseeable future.*
Ximedica is also planning a 23,000-square-foot expansion of its R&D and manufacturing facilities for completion in early 2011 at its Providence headquarters. The larger footprint will include new clean rooms and dedicated engineering and test facilities, much of which will serve the company’s contract research and product development customer base.
The company also added medical simulation to its medical device R&D services and a “Human Centered Healthcare Services” group. The company uses high-tech mannequins in a simulated hospital setting to train healthcare providers, but also provides device developers with a lower-risk environment for testing and developing their technology.
The development of the Human Centered Healthcare Services group represents the company’s entry into the provider side of healthcare. In the past, Ximedica has redesigned emergency room and trauma bay workflow systems, but the new group will focus specifically on aiding providers with safety and efficiency issues in care delivery.
The company’s growth necessitated the hiring of Dr. Anita Kestin for the newly created role of medical director.
Kestin will help apply a human factor mindset to the company’s endeavors, Reifsteck said. She will help Ximedica’s customers and staff to understand both clinical and user need, including risk assessment. Kestin’s addition means the company’s design processes won’t only include a group of engineers, Reifsteck said.
In May, the company held an event to show off its efforts to increase collaboration and knowledge-sharing across professional disciplines in the development of medical devices.
*Correction, July 12, 2010: This article originally and incorrectly attributed information from COO Dan Reifsteck to Ximedica CFO Bill Stetter. Return to the corrected sentence.
