News Article

Groundbreaking held for Durham imaging technology firm
Date: Apr 08, 2013
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Featured firm in this article: Xemed LLC of Durham, NH



DURHAM — With the turn of a few shovels full of dirt, excavation has begun in Durham for a new building for Xemed LLC, a high-technology spinout company located adjacent to the University of New Hampshire.

Xemed was founded in 2004 by Prof. Bill Hersman to advance and commercialize the medical imaging technology he invented as a professor in UNH's physics department. In 2006 he acquired a commercial property on Strafford Avenue, just down the street from the now-closed New England Center, to house his growing business.

Now with 12 employees and a number of projects underway, Xemed needs a new home.

Fortunately for Hersman, his property has undeveloped space in the back yard. Working with construction manager John DeStefano and architect Bill Schoonmaker and financed by Federal Savings Bank, Hersman plans to erect a 10,000 square foot replacement building behind the existing one-and-a-half story cape. After the new building can be occupied, he will move Xemed operations to its new home and demolish the old building for additional parking and improved accessibility.

Back in 1997 Hersman developed a process that uses lasers and magnetic fields to alter the magnetism of gases. Bags containing this magnetic xenon, or MagniXene, can be specially prepared to show up on a Magnetic Resonance Imaging medical scanner.

Patients suffering from lung diseases can inhale the gas and obtain an MRI image depicting the regional deficits in their lungs. The machine that Hersman originally developed to produce these gases filled an entire laboratory.

Xemed licensed the technology from UNH's Office of Research Partnerships and Commercialization. The company's primary focus has been to develop a compact, portable machine that can be installed in a hospital and autonomously produce these bags of MagniXene gas.

With these new machines, medical researchers can now conduct clinical trials at several teaching hospitals across the US and Canada to determine the effectiveness of using images to guide medical therapies related to asthma, cystic fibrosis, and COPD (smoker's lung disease).

Xemed is also developing other applications of its laser technology in areas ranging from basic science to military defense.

The new building will house office space and laboratories for up to 30-35 employees, allowing Xemed to continue growing. Optionally there may be some space available during the first few years for leasing an office/lab suite to a compatible high-tech tenant.

The new Xemed Technology Park is likely to be ready for occupancy by September 2013, with the full project including parking and landscaping wrapping up soon thereafter.