Tremedics Medical Devices, Inc., a Fort Worth-based medical technology company, has won the 2024 MassChallenge Healthcare Award, securing $25,000 in funding and continued membership through alumni and networking events.

The award was presented at RESOLVE ’25 in Boston, the culminating event in April for the 2024 MassChallenge U.S. Early Stage Accelerator Program, which featured 128 startups selected from more than 1,300 applications.

Tre Welch

“We’re thrilled to receive this recognition,” said Tre Welch, CEO of Tremedics. “The award validates our team’s dedication to transforming healthcare and underscores the importance of our work in congenital heart disease. It aligns perfectly with MassChallenge’s mission to foster impactful healthcare advancements through innovation and strategic partnerships.”

Tremedics’ flagship product, Illusicor, is a bioresorbable stent designed to be implanted via minimally invasive surgery. Unlike traditional metal stents, which remain permanently in the body, Illusicor gradually degrades and is absorbed, allowing blood vessels to grow naturally with the child.

According to the company’s competition profile: “Currently, clinicians have contacted us to use our patented technology, Illusicor, to treat children with congenital heart disease for compassionate use. Several clinics throughout the US are seeking degradable scaffolds/stents for heart disease in children and adults.”

The technology specifically targets conditions such as aortic coarctation and pulmonary artery stenosis, which affect thousands of children annually in the U.S. Current treatments often use adult stents “off label,” which can lead to complications and additional surgeries as children grow.

Welch, who has primarily self-funded the venture, founded Tremedics in 2015 and has been a member of TechFW since 2018, operating out of North Richland Hills in Fort Worth. Previously featured on the Innovate Fort Worth podcast, Welch discussed the potential for his technology to “revolutionize how congenital heart disease is currently treated by reducing the number of open-heart surgeries needed for the disease, and by using the same heart stent to grow with the patient.”

The RESOLVE ’25 Healthcare Award was presented to Tremedics Founder Tre Welch by Sarah Iselin, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, at the State Room in Boston during the showcase event. [Photo: Tremedics]

Looking ahead, Tremedics plans to conduct a pre-clinical study to assess the degradation of the stent, which could lead to filing an Investigational Device Exemption status with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The RESOLVE ’25 event featured a startup showcase with 32 finalists presenting innovations across various sectors. Another North Texas company, Nerveli, Inc., was also among the five healthcare category finalists.

Nerveli, founded by Leon Jacobson, an MBA who serves as CEO, and Ted Price, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and expert in pain research, is a digital health startup focused on chronic pain management through a personalized, evidence-based mobile platform. According to their competition profile, Nerveli’s “platform combines proven medical science and AI to empower you to holistically understand and manage your pain and then guide you with a personalized approach to pain relief.”

The competition also recognized other winners, including ClearLeaf, Feathery, Algas Organics, Coastal Protection Solutions, and several others across various categories, such as Climate, FinTech, Security & Resiliency, and Social Impact. Go here to see all the finalists across these categories. 

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