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Checkpoint Surgical garners $1.1 million investment to launch nerve stimulator

Checkpoint plans to use the investment to fund a pilot launch starting this month of its stimulator, said Len Cosentino, Checkpoint’s chief executive officer. The launch will include two or three hospitals in each of five markets: Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham and South Florida.

HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio — Checkpoint Surgical has raised $1.1 million to develop and commercialize a hand-held disposable nerve stimulator.

Checkpoint plans to use the investment to fund a pilot launch starting this month of its stimulator, said Len Cosentino, Checkpoint’s chief executive officer. The launch will include two or three hospitals in each of five markets: Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham and South Florida.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Checkpoint’s device in September.

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Nerve stimulators are used to locate, identify and confirm motor nerve function, and help surgeons avoid nerve damage during surgical procedures. The device, called the CheckPoint Stimulator/Locator, is a hand-held, single-use sterile device designed for one-hand use.

Of the $1.1 million cash infusion, $250,000 comes from JumpStart, a Cleveland-based, early-stage investor. The rest comes from private investors and the company’s management team, Cosentino said.

The investment is part of a first round of $2 million that the company hopes to close by the end of the year, Cosentino said.  He hopes to close on an additional $3 million in funding by the end of 2010.

Checkpoint was spun off from medical device incubator NDI Medical earlier this year. Last year, NDI sold a bladder control device for $42 million to Minneapolis-based device giant Medtronic.

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Cosentino joined NDI in 2006 as vice president of business development and corporate counsel. Previously, he was a partner with Cleveland law firm McDonald Hopkins LLC.