The Napkin Moment Behind Z-Loupes

Every great innovation begins with a spark of inspiration, and for Z-Loupes, that spark came during a dinner at Sean’s mother’s house. I was explaining to Linda my idea for a neck battery pack and we were going over my drawings when her son, Sean, walked in. By coincidence, Sean Lamb was a biomedical engineer from Syracuse University.

He immediately jumped in, asking questions about how the design would work. Over the next week, Sean worked with a pair of my old loupes and re engineered them based on my drawing. The result? A lightweight, ergonomically shaped neck battery pack, inspired by Bose neck speakers. Once the concept was ready, I knew it had potential, and that’s when I decided to turn it into a company.

That’s how Z-Loupes was born.

Sean Lamb signed on as a minority partner, and the journey officially began.

The next innovation came from my engineering team: gesture controls. This breakthrough was informed by over 60 Maven interviews through Launch NY and guidance from my Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR), John Semen.

This is when Z-Loupes truly started to flourish. We focused on solving real pain points for practitioners, especially after COVID, by introducing touchless operations. These controls allow doctors to remain efficient and focused on procedures without needing to constantly adjust their equipment. Seeing my first neck battery pack come to life was exhilarating. Expanding into touchless controls was a game-changer. I knew I was on to something meaningful. Most importantly, Z-Loupes creates devices designed for women, so no one has to struggle with equipment that wasn’t made with them in mind.
Z-Loupes is more than a product, it’s a story of innovation, collaboration, and solving real-world problems. And it all started with a simple idea sketched on a napkin.

Dr. Zina Berry
Founder & CEO at Z-Loupes INC.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zina-berry-796062252/