Tourniquet Technology Takes Top Spot at 2023 Crane IP Defense Innovation Pitch Competition

BEDFORD, Ind. (July 3, 2023) — A Bloomington-based company, MSP Manufacturing, won first place in the fourth-annual Crane IP Defense Innovation Pitch Competition on Tuesday, June 27.   

Radius Indiana sponsored the virtual competition in coordination with Elevate Ventures, Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane Division (NSWC Crane), the Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC), and The Mill. Judges included southwestern Indiana defense and economic development leaders who had previous experience with pitch competitions and knowledge of NSWC Crane. 

The top three contestants shared cash prizes totaling $12,000. 

1. Junctional Tourniquet ($6,000 prize): MSP Manufacturing, led by Johnny Goode, looks to simplify the current tourniquet market and aims to decrease the number of preventable deaths caused by blood loss. Goode’s plan involves creating smaller, more compact tourniquets that can more easily be carried and used in an emergency for civilian or law enforcement use.   
2. EdgeDeploy™: ($4,000 prize): C3I Tech, LLC, led by David Charlot, offers collaborative directed energy enabling autonomous drones to become acoustic hailing devices in support of DoD/industrial/maritime security and surveillance. This non-lethal defense focused product helps rapidly determine the intent of an adversary (or non-adversary) using collective intelligence (ML).
3. Hummingbird ($2,000 prize): OneO[Q], presented by Dr. Hossein Alisafaee, is creating a drone system for churches, schools, malls, and similar environments to be the first defense against threats until authorities arrive on the scene. 

“I was very interested in the technology for my product the second I read about it. The Mill and NSWC Crane Tech Transfer officer were extremely helpful as I prepared for the competition,” said Goode. “Our goal is to provide valuable technology to our warfighter, law enforcement personnel, and fire responders. I am personally excited about introducing new technology to former teammates and friends of mine.”

Radius Indiana created the royalty-free IP pitch competition as an opportunity for interested businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs to take advantage of NSWC Crane’s Rapid Response Licensing Program, which launched in Spring 2020 in response to COVID-19. The competition offered royalty-free access for those who seek to commercialize patented technologies and concepts developed at NSWC Crane. 

“I greatly enjoyed listening to the pitches of each of the entrepreneurial teams, and I look forward to seeing the progress they will make as they continue to develop the technology. It is always exciting to see technologies available from Crane transition to industry,” said Amanda McCullough, acting intellectual property portfolio manager for NSWC Crane.

This event was the sixth pitch competition hosted by Radius since 2019. These competitions have included pitch opportunities for high school students, adults, startups and established businesses or products and ideas. 

“We are so grateful for the opportunity each year to host this competition and on behalf of Radius we would like to congratulate this year’s winners,” said Blaine Parker, director of entrepreneurship and small business support for Radius Indiana. “Radius is dedicated to the defense ecosystem in southern Indiana and we look forward to seeing what’s next for our pitchers and NSWC Crane.”

To view NSWC Crane’s entire IP portfolio, please visit www.techlinkcenter.org.

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About Radius Indiana: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

About NSWC Crane: NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electronic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today’s Warfighter.

About Elevate Ventures: Elevate Ventures is a private venture development organization that nurtures and develops emerging and existing high-growth businesses into high-performing, Indiana-based companies. Elevate Ventures accomplishes this by providing access to capital, rigorous business analysis and robust advisory services that connect companies with the right mix of resources businesses need to succeed long term. To learn more about Elevate Ventures, visit elevateventures.com.

About Indiana Small Business Development Center: The Indiana SBDC creates a positive and measurable impact on the formation, growth, and sustainability of Indiana’s small businesses by providing entrepreneurs expert guidance and a comprehensive network of resources. To learn more about you can access free resources through the ISBDC network, visit us at www.isbdc.org. 

About The Mill: The Mill’s mission is to spark Bloomington’s innovation economy by launching and accelerating startups, and its vision is to become Indiana’s center of gravity for entrepreneurship. For more information about The Mill, visit https://dimensionmill.org/.