About Huot
In 2005, Dr. Samuel Huot, a family physician, discussed his ideas for a new and innovative tool for making elliptical excisions with two engineers, George Dunham and Richard Ward. He described the problems with doing an elliptical excision, noting that it was difficult to make a completely symmetrical incision, difficult to keep the sides 90 degrees to the surface and time consuming to complete.
Other manufacturers had attempted to manufacture elliptical punches before. One manufacturer had made a tool that rocked back and forth, and a second manufacturer made a tool in an elliptical shape that is meant to be pushed down into the skin with no means for the blade to rotate to facilitate a cutting action. Dr. Huot's idea was for a thin flexible blade that rotates inside of a plastic housing that would create a cutting action in an elliptical shape. The tool would be as quick and easy to use as a standard circular punch.
Perfecting the idea took over a year, and in 2006, Huot Instruments, LLC was formed to bring this innovative idea to market, now know as the ElliptiPunch.
During the ElliptiPunch development period, an associate of Dr. Huot's, Dr. Greg Wittenberg approached the company with an idea that he had been developing, the VisiPunch. Dr. Wittenberg's idea was to add "viewing" windows in the standard round biopsy punch thereby enabling the clinician to determine, with precision, that the lesion is centered in the incision. The VisiPunch also has the additional benefit of allowing the doctor to easily remove any specimen that would get stuck in the punch.
Dr. Wittenberg joined the company in 2006, bringing with him the basic technology for the VisiPunch.
Huot Instruments established its state of the art manufacturing facility in late 2006, and began producing and marketing ElliptiPunches and VisiPunches.
In February 2008, Huot Instruments obtained its ISO 13485:2003, Directive 93/423EEC Annex V, and CE certifications. These certifications ensure that only the highest quality products are produced by Huot Instruments. These certifications also enable Huot to apply for permission to market these innovative products worldwide.
Huot Instruments continues to research and develop innovative medical devices.