The MidCon Story

In 2008, Neal Nurnberg was diagnosed with an aggressive type of melanoma, the most fatal form of skin cancer.  As part of his treatment, Neal underwent regular skin cancer screenings, and he was surprised to discover that the mole mapping process used to record the size and shape of his lesions was outdated and inefficient.  Like many dermatologist offices in the United States, the medical staff measured skin lesions by hand and used point-and-shoot digital cameras to photograph the lesion for future reference. Oftentimes, it took multiple attempts to capture a clear image.  Additionally, any information recorded was manually entered into his electronic medical record.

This time-consuming and potentially error-prone process prompted Neal to search for a better method of documenting skin lesions for diagnosis and treatment.  After an extensive search of the dermatology device market, Neal found the only products available in the United States were too expensive and complex for a typical dermatology office, or affordable but lacking necessary technology.  Finally, Neal discovered a digital dermatoscope produced in Finland that had the right features at an affordable price point: the Optomed Smartscope M3-1.  Neal quickly developed an agreement with the manufacturer to bring the dermatology camera to the United States and fill a niche in the U.S. dermatology market.

In early 2009, Neal partnered with Jacob Golden to form MidCon Distribution, Inc., a medical device distributor, and gained the exclusive rights to sell the Optomed Smartscope M3-1 in the United States.  Additionally, Neal and Jacob designed medical image archiving software specifically for the Smartscope that measures lesions automatically and allows physicians to attach notations to the images. This information can then be transferred to a patient’s electronic medical record and used to track lesion progression over time. Today, Neal and Jacob continue to seek out and bring innovative solutions to niche medical markets in the United States in the hopes of advancing quality healthcare in America.