The company is developing a disposable device that measures the length of a woman’s cervix to help predict risks of preterm birth. It is potentially easier, less costly and just as accurate as the transvaginal ultrasound device used in only high-risk pregnancies. It could be in the market by 2010.

Biomedical companies with compelling technologies could win millions of dollars in investments this year despite the worst gloom in financial markets since the Great Depression.