Melzi Surgical

What Melzi Surgical does

Melzi Surgical is a private surgical device company headquartered in Los Altos, California, that develops and commercializes the Melzi Sharps Finder, an FDA-registered, sterile, single-use handheld metallic detection device used intraoperatively to locate lost surgical needles, broken instrument fragments, guidewires, and other metallic sharps inside patients during open, laparoscopic, and robotic procedures. The device uses a metallic sensor with audible and visual feedback and adjustable sensitivity, is compatible with a 5mm trocar for minimally invasive surgery, and can detect needles as small as 7mm — below the detection threshold of X-ray imaging. Clinical evidence from a preclinical assessment shows a 97% needle location success rate versus 46.7% for manual search alone (p<0.001) and an average detection time of 2.0 minutes versus 3.9 minutes for manual search. The company has secured an endorsement from Stanford Health Care's Chief of Medical Staff and has documented real-world deployment cases, including an OBGYN surgery at a Pennsylvania medical center.

Melzi is a single-product business that generates revenue through hardware sales of disposable devices to U.S. hospitals and health systems, including community hospitals, teaching hospitals, VA hospitals, and profit and non-profit medical centers. Distribution is executed through a direct field sales model targeting OR directors, surgeons, and material management teams, supplemented by a national group purchasing organization agreement with Premier, Inc. effective November 15, 2024, which provides pre-negotiated access to roughly two-thirds of U.S. healthcare providers. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated through GPO contracts and individual hospital procurement. The company raised over $4.0 million in Series A financing in April 2022 (1Flourish Capital) and an additional $500,000 in September 2024 from Battle Born Venture.

The founding team combines clinical, engineering, and commercial backgrounds: Reid Rutherford (Co-founder & CEO, MBA Stanford), Ivy Montgomery (Co-Founder & CMO, MBA MIT Sloan), Dr. Sam Weprin (Co-founder & Product Innovation), Dr. John Noel (Co-founder & Product Engineering, PhD Applied Physics), Dr. Daniel Eun (Co-founder & Chief Robotic Surgeon at Temple University Hospital), and Luke Clauson (Co-founder, CEO of R&D partner Innovative Drive). The company is incorporated in California as Melzi Corp, employs 11-50 people, received Premier's Breakthrough Technology Designation in 2024, and offers continuing education programs accredited by the California Board of Registered Nursing and NCCT as part of its go-to-market strategy.

Name

Melzi Surgical

Legal name

Melzi Corp

Website

https://melzisurgical.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Melzi Surgical is a private medical device company that develops and sells the FDA-registered Melzi Sharps Finder, a single-use handheld metallic detection device used by U.S. hospitals to locate lost surgical needles and sharps during open, laparoscopic, and robotic procedures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intraoperative Surgical Detection Devices

NAICS

Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing (339112)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Open & Minimally Invasive Surgical Instruments (Handheld, Laparoscopic, MIS) (HLAHADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Intraoperative Imaging & Guidance (C-arms, O-arm, IOUS, fluorescence) (HLAHADAH), Single-Use Medical Disposables & Procedure Kits (Drapes, Tubing, Catheters, Syringes, Custom Packs) (HLAHANAG)

Keywords

• Surgical device manufacturing
• Intraoperative metal detection
• Retained surgical items
• Sharps finder device
• Surgical safety equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Altos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Melzi Sharps Finder Device Sales: Melzi Surgical generates revenue through the sale of its sterile, single-use Melzi Sharps Finder devices to hospitals and health systems. The devices are sold in two sizes for open surgery and minimally invasive/robotic surgery. Revenue is derived from direct hospital purchases, GPO contract pricing, and individual unit sales. The product is classified under the Surgical Sponge Detection Systems category for group purchasing purposes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Melzi Surgical designs and sells the Melzi Sharps Finder, an FDA-registered, sterile, single-use handheld metallic detection device used intraoperatively to locate lost surgical needles, broken instrument fragments, and guidewires inside patients during open, laparoscopic, and robotic procedures. The device is available in two sizes (open and minimally invasive/5mm trocar-compatible) and is indicated for use in gastroenterology and urology surgeries, where it functions as an adjunct to manual counting and intraoperative X-ray.

Product overview

Melzi Surgical operates as a single-product surgical device company focused on patient safety. The company's sole offering is the Melzi Sharps Finder, an FDA-registered handheld detection device designed to locate lost surgical needles, broken instrument fragments, guidewires, and other metallic sharps inside patients during surgery. The device is compatible with 5mm trocars for laparoscopic and robotic surgeries, as well as open surgery procedures. It is indicated for gastroenterology and urology surgeries. The product functions as an adjunct tool to supplement manual counting protocols and intraoperative X-ray when surgical miscounts occur, helping to reduce retained surgical items (RSIs), minimize X-ray exposure, save OR time, and reduce legal/litigation risks for hospitals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Melzi Sharps Finder An FDA-registered, sterile, single-use handheld metallic detection device designed to locate lost surgical needles, broken instrument pieces, guidewires, and metallic fragments inside patients during open, laparoscopic, and robotic surgeries. It is compatible with a 5mm trocar and is available in two sizes (one for open surgery and one for minimally invasive surgery). It is indicated for use in gastroenterology and urology surgeries and provides audible and visual feedback when metallic objects are detected. For use by surgeons, OR directors, circulating nurses, and scrub nurses in hospitals and health systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% needle detection success rate vs. 46.7% for manual search alone (p<0.001)
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Premier, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 November 2024Melzi Surgical was awarded a national group purchasing agreement with Premier, Inc. in the category of Surgical Sponge Detection Systems. Effective November 15, 2024, the agreement allows Premier members to access pre-negotiated pricing and terms for the Melzi Sharps Finder device. Premier serves two-thirds of all healthcare providers in the United States, providing Melzi with broad market access through a trusted GPO channel. The company was also designated as a Breakthrough Technology by Premier for its advantages in patient safety, clinical outcomes, and operational efficiencies.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Becton Dickinson (BD): BD is a major medical device and surgical supplies company with a portfolio spanning surgical instruments, sharps safety devices, and infection prevention products. While its sharps safety focus is more on needlestick prevention than detection, its hospital relationships and OR device footprint make it an adjacent incumbent and potential strategic acquirer.
• Stryker: Stryker is a dominant surgical instruments and OR equipment incumbent with a broad portfolio spanning surgical instruments, surgical navigation, and patient safety adjacencies. While not a direct handheld sharps detection competitor, it is a major incumbent in OR surgical equipment and could leverage scale to enter or bundle in Melzi's category.
• Medline Industries: Medline is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of medical-surgical supplies, including surgical instruments and OR disposable products. It is a broad incumbent that could leverage its distribution scale to enter or distribute sharps detection devices to hospitals already on GPO contracts.
• Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson): Ethicon is a global leader in sutures, needles, and other surgical consumables and is a natural strategic acquirer or competitor given its dominance in surgical needles, the very category Melzi's device is designed to locate when lost. Its scale and hospital relationships make it a critical incumbent in the surgical workflow.

Direct peers

• Censis Technologies: Censis Technologies offers the CensiTrac surgical asset tracking platform used for sterile processing and OR instrument counting workflows. It competes with Melzi as an alternative approach to preventing retained surgical items through instrument tracking and count compliance rather than handheld intraoperative detection.
• Haldor Advanced Technologies: Haldor develops RFID-based surgical instrument and sponge tracking systems designed to prevent retained surgical items in the OR. It directly competes with Melzi in the retained surgical item prevention category but uses RFID tagging of instruments and sponges rather than handheld metallic detection.
• Medtronic (RF Surgical Systems): Medtronic acquired RF Surgical Systems, which developed the RF Assure Detection System, a direct competitor to the Melzi Sharps Finder for detecting retained surgical items via RFID-augmented gauze and sponges. It is the most directly comparable technology in the retained surgical item detection space, with significantly greater scale and distribution.

Emerging players

• Integra LifeSciences: Integra LifeSciences develops specialty surgical instruments and neurosurgical devices and is an adjacent player in the surgical instruments space. It is comparable as a mid-sized surgical device company whose product portfolio could be extended to include sharps detection adjacencies through acquisition or internal development.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@MelziSurgical
• Facebookfacebook.com/MelziSurgical
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/melzicorp
• Instagraminstagram.com/melzi.sharps.finder
• Xx.com/Melzi_Surgical

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Melzi Surgical