Nordic Life Science 1
- article3D now has a more advanced printer with
specialized components. The company moved in 2017 from the university, which initially employed Jensen and Slots to develop their idea, to office and lab space in central Odense. Particle3D holds U.S. and European patents and are applying in South America and Asia, including India. The company is testing the implants in pigs, with results expected soon, and plans for clinical trials, if all goes well. Eventually, Jensen says, they envision making individually tailored implants for hospitals and surgical centers to use with patients having facial reconstruction because of cancer or accidents. LEARNING BY DOING Jensen and Slots barely have time to reflect on how they went from an idea to Particle3D in a few quick years. It was a learn-by-doing experience, in any case. Every process from registering the company to paying their own salaries was new. ”We’re engineers,” Jensen says. ”We didn’t have experience with starting or running a company.” onetheless, Olesen is impressed with what the entrepreneurs built. ”Martin and Casper did a great job of not rushing into things but figuring them out first,” she says. Although they are just four full-time employees now, Slots says an early lesson has been the importance of building a good team around your technology. Particle3D has benefitted from mentors and advisors they met through Accelerace, for example. ”You learn you can’t do everything yourself and you need experts,” Slots says. MAKING THIS IDEA FLY Both Slots and Jensen are committed to moving the company forward to market launch, although this career path is somewhat surprising to them. Both originally thought they would work in R&D, including getting engineering PhDs. Slots has a nursing degree and says, ”My perspective is, this is such a good cause. I’m first and foremost a nurse, drawn to technology and working on medical devices. I see how our company can help patients who have difficulties with cranial-facial reconstructions. Although they appreciate their surgeons, many have depression because they don’t recognize themselves in the mirror. I want to get a product on the market that helps patients improve their lives.” ensen says that he might someday go back to doing engineering labwork or he could launch another startup in the future based on his entrepreneurial experience with Particle3D. But right now, he says, the work is fun and exciting and ”our full focus is on commercializing our lead product and scaling our company and making this idea fly.” NLS 100