CLEVELAND, April 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cuyahoga County, BioEnterprise, HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) and The Global Center for Health Innovation (GCHI), are pleased to announce the inaugural Medical Capital Innovation Competition “All Things Data in Healthcare” winners:
OPEN DIVISION
1st Place/$50,000: MedRespond, Pittsburgh, PA – Patients often have questions about their medical treatment. Sometimes they don’t know what to expect and are thus nervous, or misunderstand instructions given in the doctor’s office. MedRespond simulates a conversation online, providing answers to medical questions while also collecting vital patient information.
2nd Place/$25,000: Rubitection, Pittsburgh, PA – Rubitection’s product is a low cost, noninvasive handheld tool for early bedsore assessment. Utilizing optical technology, the Rubitect Assessment System includes a measurement probe with a sterile cover and data tracking software.
3rd Place/$15,000: Hyr Medical, Cleveland, OH – To address the many problems of hospital staffing,
Hyr Medical connects doctors and hospitals via a web-based platform – bypassing inefficient locum agencies.
COLLEGIATE DIVISION
1st Place/$6,000: NeuroRad Vision, Cleveland, OH – NeuroRadVision is a computerized decision support software toolkit, employing novel and advanced artificial intelligence and image analysis algorithms to differential recurrent brain tumors from benign radiation-induced treatment effects.
2nd Place/$3,000: HealthTech Solutions, Iowa City, IA – HealthTech Solutions is developing a mobile application called Organizer, which facilitates instantaneous communication and information flow for organ procurement organizations.
3rd Place/$1,000: EXAID, Pittsburgh, OH – EXAID is developing a HIPAA-compliant clinical trial matching application to quickly match oncology patients with trials and expedite the drug validation process.
“Innovation and entrepreneurialism are a part of the spirit of Cuyahoga County,” said Armond Budish, Cuyahoga County Executive. “I am honored to congratulate the winning teams and I invite them to keep their hearts and minds connected to Cleveland, where our world-renowned healthcare facilities, educational institutions and public-private partnerships foster continued growth in the healthcare and biomedical industries. Together we can build a thriving and prosperous region.”
The Innovation Competition attracted 180 applications from industry professionals and university students from across the world. The final participants included 27 teams – 22 Professional and 5 Collegiate– from 11 U.S. states and Canada.
In addition to cash prizes, the winning teams will receive meaningful assistance, including mentoring and access to world-class healthcare systems and collaborators. Open division first place winners also receive an opportunity to demonstrate innovation at the HIMSS18 Conference in March 2018.
“HIMSS’s vision is better health through the best use of IT. And, the Medical Capital Innovation Competition takes us all a step closer to realizing that vision,” said Carla Smith, executive vice president of HIMSS. “We champion competitions such as this because they support a culture of innovation, solve problems the health sector faces, help businesses flourish, and support job creation. I have been truly impressed with the caliber of the professional and collegiate teams from around the country; I’m eager to follow their progress towards improving the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of health and healthcare.”
Competing teams represented a variety of big data healthcare categories including patient engagement and compliance, clinical trial optimization, EHR (electronic health records) optimization, and decision support. For a complete list of participating teams and their product solutions go to www.MedicalInnovationCompetition.org.
“This major health IT innovation competition was held here in Cleveland, The Medical Capital for several reasons,” said Aram Nerpouni, president and CEO, BioEnterprise. “It’s home to more than 45 health IT companies including IBM Explorys, Hyland Software and OnShift; health IT investment more than doubled to $50 million in 2016; and the region is home to world-class healthcare and research assets that young companies want to collaborate with to grow their companies.”
About The Medical Capital
The Medical Capital initiative is a collaboration of Cleveland’s internationally renowned clinical, educational, and research institutions, philanthropies, government, and economic development engines. Convened by BioEnterprise, the initiative promotes the vibrant biomedical and healthcare industry in the 18-county Northeast Ohio region. The Medical Capital includes more than 700 biohealth companies, 30 clinical, research and educational institutions, 230,000 biomedical and healthcare workers, $650 million annually in research funding, and $200 million annually in private startup funding. For more information: www.TheMedicalCapital.com.
About BioEnterprise
BioEnterprise is a business formation, recruitment, and acceleration effort designed to support the growth of bioscience companies. Located in Cleveland, BioEnterprise provides management counsel and support services to health IT, medical device, and biopharmaceutical companies.
BioEnterprise founders are Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals. Additional technology partners include the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland State University, and BioOhio. The initiative comprises the collective activities of BioEnterprise and its partners’ commercialization offices: The Case Office of Technology Transfer, Cleveland Clinic Innovations, and University Hospitals Cleveland – Center for Clinical Research. The combined efforts of these groups has created, recruited, and accelerated more than 300 companies in 15 years. For more information: www.BioEnterprise.com.
About Cuyahoga County
Cuyahoga County is home to world-renowned healthcare facilities, including Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and the MetroHealth System. It is also home to 1.2 million people and is comprised of 59 unique and distinctive communities, with Cleveland as its nucleus. The county is the economic center of Northeast Ohio.
The County has a booming biotechnology and biomedical industry. There are over 700 bioscience-related companies within its borders. The healthcare and biomedical industry together employ over 230,000 individuals.
About HIMSS
HIMSS is a global voice, advisor and thought leader of health transformation through health IT with a unique breadth and depth of expertise and capabilities to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health, healthcare and care outcomes. HIMSS designs and leverages key data assets, predictive models and tools to advise global leaders, stakeholders and influencers of best practices in health IT, so they have the right information at the point of decision. Through its health IT network of over 1 million experts, over 200 knowledge exchanges and collaborations, including 64,000-plus members, HIMSS drives innovative, forward thinking around best uses of technology in support of better connected care, improved population health and low cost of care. HIMSS is a not-for-profit, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with additional offices in North America, Europe, United Kingdom and Asia.
About The Global Center for Health Innovation
The Global Center for Health Innovation was built in Cleveland to serve as the focal point for healthcare innovation, conventions, and industry-specific meetings, and is home to internationally-recognized brands such as GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips Healthcare, Cisco Systems, Cardinal Health, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) along with Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. Under the direction of the Cuyahoga County Convention Facilities Development Corporation (CCCFDC) and managed by SMG, the Global Center is home to 45 of the world’s leading healthcare brands and more than 300 industry meetings annually. Each tenant partner space displays innovation and technology contributing to the overall mission of improving patient outcomes and lowering costs for healthcare providers and consumers. To learn more, visit the Global Center website at www.theglobalcenter.com
To learn more about Cleveland as the nation’s medical capital, visit www.TheMedicalCapital.com.