BizWest announces finalists for 2016 IQ Awards

BizWest on Monday unveiled the list of 27 finalists for the newspaper’s 2016 IQ Awards.

Started in 2000, the IQ Awards honor the “Innovation Quotient” among companies and organizations based in Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties, as well as local divisions of national/international companies that have been instrumental in developing the most innovative products and services.

Winners will be announced at the Dec. 6 IQ Awards and Innovation Summit. The event will take place at the Plaza Convention Center, 1850 Industrial Circle, in Longmont. A VIP reception will be held from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., followed by cocktails, hors d’ouevres and the awards ceremony from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the event cost $49 online and $59 at the door, and can be purchased online here.

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Awards will be handed out for Innovator of the Year, Innovative Company of the Year, Incubator/Accelerator of the Year, and six different product categories.

Finalists for this year’s awards include:

Innovator of the Year:

Dave DuPont, CEO, TeamSnap

Kristy Lewis, CEO, Quinn Foods

Joel Oakman, director of engineering, Vairex Air Systems

Innovative Company of the Year:

Biodesix, Boulder

Madwire, Fort Collins

n.io, Broomfield

Incubator/Accelerator of the Year:

Innosphere, Fort Collins

Mergelane, Boulder

UpRamp, Louisville

PRODUCTS

Clean Tech:

Clean Energy Collective, Louisville: Clean Energy Collective has developed a comprehensive software-as-a-service platform that provides utilities with a turn-key community solar solution to successfully launch and monetize their own projects. With the “teach-them-to-fish” approach, CEC is dramatically changing the trajectory of solar adoption.

New Sky Energy, Boulder: Renewable natural gas (biogas) is frequently contaminated with hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a deadly gas that must be removed before the gas is sold or used. New Sky’s innovative SulfurCycle process is a highly sustainable method of sweetening such H2S-contaminated gas that is much less costly than all competing technologies.

Prieto Battery, Fort Collins: The company is developing a patented 3D lithium-ion battery technology that delivers transformational performance at a competitive cost using non-toxic materials with the ability to customize shapes.

Consumer:

Asius Technologies, Boulder: Asius develops audio technology that employs a patented second eardrum which absorbs the harmful pressures that cause hearing loss and degrade sound quality. Asius’ products are enjoyed the world over by sound engineers, musicians, audiophiles, and anyone who wears ear devices for sustained periods in loud environments.

Quadshox, Fort Collins: Has designed an innovative rear suspension retro-fit kit for tilt-in-space manual wheelchairs that significantly reduces the shock felt by the user when rolling over rough and uneven surfaces. While power wheelchairs have suspension, manual chairs do not, and the slightest bump or uneven surface sends very painful shockwaves to the wheelchair rider.

Silvernest, Boulder: Silvernest is a highly scalable, innovative online solution that airs aging homeowners (50+) with compatible roommates and provides tools for long-term home sharing.

Hardware:

Acroname, Boulder: Programmable 8-port USB 3.0 Hub that allows engineers complete software control of USB functions for manufacturing and lab environments.

mcSquares, Broomfield: Makes collaborative dry-erase tiles that can come off the wall and be handed around the room to get people to contribute and then snapped back on the wall so all ideas can be discussed in front of the group. A wirelessly connected version is also in the works.

Stratom, Boulder: The eXpeditionary Robo-Platform (XR-P) is an unmanned system that autonomously loads and unloads pallets from multiple aircraft types, eliminating currently required material handling equipment and reducing manpower requirements. The system aims to revolutionize aircraft cargo management by introducing advanced technologies to aircraft cargo handling processes while significantly reducing manpower and loading time.

Health Care:

Eximis Surgical, Fort Collins: Developing a minimally invasive surgery solution for the removal of large specimens through small incisions. The company has developed a fully contained solution that allows surgeons to quickly and easily remove large specimens, eliminating the need to enlarge incisions and reducing the likelihood of post-operative complications.

Green Sun Medical, Fort Collins: Developing innovative spinal bracing technology for the treatment of deformities, including scoliosis and kyphosis. Their dynamic brace technology will offer new hope to patients facing invasive spinal corrective surgery.

High Precision Devices, Boulder: HPD’s MRI standards enable a new field called quantitative MRI (qMRI). qMRI is a noninvasive disease diagnostic that improves patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Developing calibration standards for medical imaging, and particularly, MRI, aims to accelerate diagnostic performance, throughput and reliability of quantitative medicine.

Mobile Apps:

3PHealth, Boulder: The company’s contextual data communication platform enables digital care delivery strategies that provide an individualized, unified experience, that leads to greater health system utilization efficiencies, patient-provider engagement, and accountability all in support of better health outcomes and bottom lines.

Sospes, Boulder: Sospes is intuitive web and mobile software that allows workers to report workplace incidents, close calls and make suggestions in real-time. Provides mobile incident reporting with voice capture and photo capability. The Supervisor Portal allows management to complete incident reports, open investigations and automatically generates regulatory reports.

Techtionary, Boulder: MedsMinders is an iPhone/iPad app to help/aid users and caregivers in managing their medications, therapy, diets, drugs, etc. to provide reminders and alerts for users, patients, therapist, pharmacists, practitioners, family members, caregivers, and other health aid helpers to reduce side effects, disease, effects, injury, impact, emergencies, trauma and other impacts.

Software:

Bear Systems, Boulder: Bear Systems has designed an elegant solution to manage and secure Internet of Things /Edge devices. Using remote management, users can securely initialize and manage these specialized devices, and protect them from becoming an entrance point to the larger network.

CaliberMind, Boulder: CaliberMind analyzes human language and behavior from CRM emails, recorded sales conversations, marketing automation data as well as from social networks to uncover B2B buyer needs, motivations, personality and even decision making style. It then recommends communication, and subscribe content that accelerates B2B deals.

EnergyLogic, Berthoud: Housing Tides Report is a comprehensive monthly report on the US Housing sector. It is a combination of forecasts, media analysis, forecast analysis and a comprehensive index of the health of the top forty-one US housing markets. Tides uses a combination of statistical analysis and machine learning to derive results.