NineSigma Engages AtriCure in the Ohio Third Frontier Open Innovation Incentive Program

CLEVELAND, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NineSigma, Inc., of Cleveland, the leading innovation partner to organizations worldwide, announced today they will work with Cincinnati, OH-based AtriCure, Inc. under the new Ohio Third Frontier Open Innovation Incentive (OII) Program. In August, NineSigma was selected by the State of Ohio to help catalyze the growth of middle market companies, with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion, by accelerating their adoption of open innovation. The Ohio Third Frontier OII is aimed at fostering collaborative innovation that will lead to job creation within Ohio and build competitive advantage on the national and global level.  

AtriCure, Inc. is a growing medical device company with a strong presence in atrial fibrillation (AF). They are a leader in developing, manufacturing and selling innovative cardiac surgical ablation systems. These systems are designed to create precise lesions, or scars, in heart tissue for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. AF is the most common irregular heartbeat and is characterized by palpitations, dizziness and shortness of breath.

"Atrial fibrillation affects more than 5.5 million people worldwide and carries with it a five-fold increased risk of stroke. We look forward to beginning our work with the team at AtriCure to help them find best-in-class partners and technologies globally that will advance their cardiac surgical solutions and ability to treat this pervasive condition," said Andy Zynga, CEO of NineSigma.

Open innovation involves "looking to the outside" for technologies, solutions, and ideas to accelerate the development of new products and increase speed to market. Through the Open Innovation Incentive, NineSigma will work closely with solution seekers to create custom networks of innovation providers to find viable solutions, filtering responses for their quality and fit. The State will assist solution seekers by funding a portion of the transactional costs of engaging an open innovation company.

About NineSigma


NineSigma connects organizations with external innovation resources to accelerate innovation in private, public and social sectors. The company provides open innovation services to organizations worldwide, including Kraft, Philips, Siemens, and Unilever, to solve immediate challenges, integrate new knowledge, fill product pipelines, and stay ahead of the competition. Named to the 2012 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private U.S. companies, NineSigma's proprietary process has produced billions of dollars in value for its clients. NineSigma has the largest open global network of solution providers and an extensive database of existing solutions spanning numerous industries and technical disciplines. NineSigma's online innovation community, NineSights™, is the world's first open innovation social media destination, connecting innovators of all sizes with resources and relationships to drive growth. Learn more at www.ninesigma.com and www.ninesights.com. 

Media Contact: 
Jackie Lucas, Warner Communications — [email protected], (978) 255-1159 

SOURCE NineSigma