A student startup company from Syracuse University went to the White House last week to participate in a forum on ways to encourage innovation and use new technologies to improve America’s health care systems.

Helios Innovative Technologies, a student startup that participated in the Syracuse Student Sandbox incubator program during the summer of 2011, was invited to the White House to participate in a discussion on the state of the economy and a high level overview of the Affordable Care Act, as well as a micro perspective on other related topics, such as the medical device excise tax and CMS reimbursements, according to the company’s website.

Helios Innovative Technologies is an early stage infection control company that is focused on improving the quality and delivery of healthcare.

The forum also focused on the new health care economy, public-private partnerships and opportunities for reform to make the system more efficient and responsive, according to the website.

Luis Romo, founder and CEO of Helios Innovative Technologies and a graduate of SU’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, represented the group at the meeting in Washington, D.C., according to the website.

Romo said in an email the inspiration for starting the company was “being able to make a change and improve our healthcare system.”

The company’s mission is to prevent healthcare acquired infections, which will ultimately save lives and reduce costs, according to its website.

To do this, Helios Innovative Technologies produces a device that uses ultraviolet light to sterilize door handles in hospitals and other medical settings and will revolutionize how healthcare facilities provide infection control, Romo said.

The issue is important because of the number of deaths caused by healthcare acquired infections — there were 100,000 deaths from healthcare acquired infections in 2010, Romo said.

“Healthcare acquired infections are a huge global problem,” he said.

This is the third time the Boston-based company has met with administration officials and the White House Business Council, according to the company’s website.

Each semester at the Student Sandbox, student entrepreneurs spend a semester with professional coaches who work with the students to accelerate the development and execution of their ideas, according to its website.

John Liddy, director of Syracuse Student Sandbox, said in an email the student startup process can take many forms.

“In the Student Sandbox, we get 26 percent of our teams from course work, 34 percent from outreach, 23 percent from Emerging Talk and Panasci and the remaining 17 percent are teams that had other startups and failed, and are now trying another venture,” he said.

Liddy said it’s great knowing a Student Sandbox student that has been asked to the White House.

“Syracuse is on the map and the White House has recognized it,” he said. “Luis has done a great job maintaining a presence in his vertical.”

Liddy attributed Romo’s success to his passion and perseverance.

Said Liddy: “Luis is pursuing a passion and that is the definition of us being successful.”

Published on March 24, 2014 at 2:04 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306