The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron has given birth to its first start-up company.

Apto-Orthopaedics will test and hopes in a few year to market a new magnetic device that will eliminate the need for numerous surgeries for children with early on-set scoliosis or curvature of the spine.

Drs. Todd Richmond, an orthopedic surgeon at Akron Children's Hospital, and Dr. Stephen Fening of the Austin Institute built a prototype of the device which could adjust to the child's growth by magnetically turning screws on an implant placed on the spine. That would virtually eliminate the current required incisions every six months, as a child continues to grow.

Both doctors say this new technology could eventually affect treatment for bone fractures and other medical conditions that require insertion of implants that require adjustments.

Austen BioInnovation Institute Director of Technology Assessment and Business Development says the new magnetic device must still undergo several years of testing before it will be ready to be marketed to the the medical community.