Pitt’s Center for Medical Innovation’s announces first round of 2013 awardees with $95,000 in funding

Swanson School of Engineering News Release

PITTSBURGH  (July 18, 2013) … The  Center for Medical Innovation  at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering announced five awards in its 2013 Round-1 Pilot Funding Program for Early Stage Medical Technology R&D. This year's Round-1 awardees include projects ranging from a prototype surgical implant for vocal cord paralysis, to developing a small, implantable device that utilizes Doppler technology to monitor blood flow from inside the body.

CMI funds applied technology projects that are in the early stages of development, with the goal of ultimately transitioning the work to clinical adoption. Proposals were evaluated on the basis of scientific merit, technical and clinical relevance, potential health care impact and significance, experience of the investigators, and potential in obtaining further financial investment to translate the particular solution to healthcare. Funding ranges between $10,000-$25,000 per award for a total this round of $95,000.

"We're now in our second year of the funding program, and our leadership team continues to be impressed by the breadth of the proposals," said Alan D. Hirschman, PhD, CMI Executive Director. "Since our goal is to help new biomedical technologies get ready for eventual commercialization, we take a close look at which applications are most likely and most ready to move to the next level of funding and development."

AWARD 1 -  "UNIVERSAL BIO-THYROPLANT FOR MEDIALIZATION THYROPLASTY"
To develop and test a prototype surgical implant for treatment of vocal cord paralysis.

Research Team:
James J. Jaber, MD, PhD
Department of Otolaryngology, Surgical Oncology, UPMC

April Chambers, PhD
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering

Peter Wipf, PhD
Distinguished Professor, Chemistry and Pharmacy Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine


AWARD 2 -  "NON-INVASIVE QUANTIFICATION OF ACL FUNCTION WITH AN iPAD APP"
To develop and evaluate image processing software for quantitative pre- and post-operative assessment of ACL in the knee. The iPAD is a widely available, cost-effective platform for the software, whose use can improve surgical outcomes.

Research Team:
 Volker Musahl, MD
Associate Professor, Orthopedic Surgery and Bioengineering, UPMC

Richard E. Debski, PhD
Associate Professor, Bioengineering and Orthopedic Surgery, Swanson School of Engineering

James J. Irrgang, PhD
Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences


AWARD 3 -  "PROSTHETIC DEVICE FOR TREATMENT OF DYSPHAGIA"
To design and develop a device for use by patients with severe dysphagia or by patients who have undergone surgical removal of the tongue. Successful development will greatly improve the quality of life for such patients who have lost the ability to swallow.

Research Team:
Neil Gildener-Leapman, MD
Department of Otolaryngology, UPMC

Youngjae Chun, PhD
Assistant Professor, Industrial Engineering


AWARD 4 -  "PRECISION GRAFT™: NEXT GENERATION FAT HARVEST AND TRANSFER DEVICE FOR RECONSTRUCTIVE AND AESTHETIC SURGERIES"
To design, develop, and test a new cannula to improve the efficiency, cost, and efficacy of adipose tissue harvest and transfer procedures.

Research Team:
J. Peter Rubin, MD
Chairman, Department of Plastic Surgery, UPMC

Lauren Kokai, PhD
Department of Plastic Surgery, UPMC

Mark Gartner, PhD
Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering

Kacey Marra, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh


AWARD 5 -  "WIRELESS IMPLANTABLE BLOOD FLOW MONITORING DEVICE"
To develop an ultra-small implantable Doppler blood flow monitoring technology with multiple clinical applications, including the monitoring of surgical flap viability and the integrity of intravascular stents.

Research Team:
 Michael L. Gimbel, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery, UPMC

Ervin Sejdic, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering

  Marlin H. Mickle, PhD
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering

Michael A. Rothfuss, MSEE
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering

About the Center for Medical Innovation
The  Center for Medical Innovation  at the Swanson School of Engineering is a collaboration among the University of Pittsburgh's Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), the Office of Technology Management (OTM), and the Coulter Translational Research Partnership II (CTRP). CMI was established in 2011 to promote the application and development of innovative biomedical technologies to clinical problems; to educate the next generation of innovators in cooperation with the schools of Engineering, Health Sciences, Business, and Law; and to facilitate the translation of innovative biomedical technologies into marketable products and services in cooperation with OTM and in partnership with CTRP.

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