NERv Technology, a medical technology start-up co-founded by two University of Waterloo engineering alumni, topped more than 100,000 applicants to take first place and the $500,000 prize at the Entrepreneurship World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
The company, launched by Youssef Helwa and Amr Abdelgawad, is developing a device to proactively detect leakage of gastrointestinal fluid into the abdominal cavity after surgery.
“We have been working really hard for almost five years to make sure we have a device that can actually have an impact on people’s lives and I think we are one step closer to that,” Abdelgawad said after winning the top prize.