Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron

ABIA Unveils National Device Innovation Strategy Based on Value-driven Engineering and U.S. Global Competitiveness

Alongside leaders within the United States biomedical device industry, ABIA has unveiled a national strategy to apply Value-driven Engineering (VdE) to enhance the development of devices with great clinical utility, quality and cost efficiency and reduced complexity. 

"Value-driven Engineering and U.S. Global Competitiveness: A Call for a National Platform to Advance Value-driven Engineering," a white paper released in June, introduces a unique blueprint to marry American ingenuity and innovation with a renewed commitment to create medical devices that are simple in design and cost effective, yet support premium health care.  This "Platform to Advance Value-driven Engineering" (PAVE) guides the nation's funding mechanisms, regulatory incentives, public-private collaboration and educational leadership to incorporate VdE principles into the U.S. biomedical device industry.

The development of the white paper began at the Safe Haven Summit on Value-driven Engineering and U.S. Global Competitiveness held by ABIA in Washington, D.C., in March. The summit included participation by a number of industry leading organizations such as the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mayo Clinic, Medtronic, Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Stanford University and The University of Akron. 

The white paper can be found at www.abiakron.org/vde

ABIA Begins Work on Roadmap for First U.S. Accountable Care Community

The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) launched its Accountable Care Community™ (ACC) initiative at the conference “Healthier by Design: Creating Accountable Care Communities” held in June at the John S. Knight Center.

The strategic discussion was led by national and regional health and wellness thought-leaders and is the first step in building a plan of health promotion and disease prevention that determines how to best deliver and provide access to quality care and services for the entire community.

The ABIA initiative integrates area assets into a shared responsibility framework among regional institutions to enable improvement in population health, to close gaps in healthcare delivery, and to measure impact as innovative health strategies are implemented. The effort is being led by Dr. Janine E. Janosky, Vice President of ABIA’s Center for Clinical and Community Health Improvement.

The initiative’s steering committee continues to develop a white paper to guide Akron’s development of an ACC that will further expand the efficiency of budgets and resources, and develop research to improve health through community and practice-based interventions.

To learn more about ACC, visit www.abiakron.org/ACC

ABIA Develops First Prototype

ABIA’s Medical Device Development Center (MDDC) has debuted its first rapid development of the prototype called PacerMan™, a simulation device for training physicians in the placement of transvenous pacemakers and technology used to regulate irregular heart rhythms. The device was the invention of ABIA’s Center for Simulation and Integrated Healthcare Education and Summa Health System’s Dr. Rami A. Ahmed and Scott Atkinson.

The development and advancement of Pacerman speaks to the capabilities of ABIA’s MDDC, a center that couples ideas with resources and expertise to create ground-breaking medical innovations. MDDC assisted Ahmed and Atkinson with their provisional patent application, prototype development, market analysis (including potential growth and competition), business planning, and paired the inventors with interested companies to further develop the technology.

As a part of its mission to ensure future innovation, ABIA’s MDDC has established the Technology Development Fund (TDF). The TDF is used to facilitate continued development of promising technologies generated within ABIA partner institutions. The TDF can be utilized for a number of purposes, including but not limited to prototype development, market analysis and intellectual property review.

To learn more about the TDF fund or how you can submit an idea, visit www.abiakron.org/mddc-capabilities-initiatives

ABIA Offers Basic Disaster Life Support Course

ABIA’s Center for Simulation and Integrated Healthcare Education (CSIHE) offered it first Basic Disaster Life Support® (BDLS) Course as a part of its mission to focus on education of the entire healthcare team, to improve the delivery of care and to increase disaster preparedness within healthcare institutions. More than 50 participants attended the one-day course held at the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in June.

ABIA’s BDLS course is one of the first to be held in Northeast Ohio, and was endorsed by the National Disaster Life Support Foundation™ and delivered in partnership with Akron Regional Hospital Association, American Medical Association (AMA), and NECO Region 5.

The goal of this course is to introduce and develop a common approach and language in the healthcare community and to improve the care and coordination of responses to disastrous events. It is designed to meet the educational objectives for those involved in disaster and emergency management. 

The course is the prerequesite for taking the Advanced Disaster Life Support® (ADLS) course, and reviews all-hazards topics, including natural events, accidental man made events, traumatic and explosive events, nuclear and radiological events, biological events and chemical events.  Also included is information on the healthcare professional's role in the public health and incident management systems, community mental health, and the special needs of underserved and vulnerable populations. 

The next course will be offered in September. To learn more about CSIHE’s education and training, visit www.abiakron.org/education-and-training

ABIA’s Collaborative Research and Development Grant Program Continues Success

ABIA’s Center for Biomaterials and Medicine (CBMM) continues to track eight projects through the inaugural Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) Grant Program.The funded projects are focused on patient-centered innovation and commercialization at the intersection of biomaterials and medicine.

One of the projects finding great success is led by researchers Vijaykumar Sutariya, PhD, of Northeast Ohio Medical University; Werner Geldenhuys, PhD, of Northeast Ohio Medical University; and Hiroshi Nakamura, MD, PhD, of Summa Health System. The project- “Controlled Delivery System of ALK-5 Inhibitors for Suppression of Ocular Scarring after Glaucoma Filtration Surgery” isresearching anti-scarring methods in order to develop a way to limit the detrimental effects of scarring, specifically after glaucoma filtration surgery.

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States and it is estimated that there were 60.5 million people with open angle glaucoma and angle closure glaucoma in 2010. When patients undergo surgical treatment for glaucoma, fibrotic scarring of the ocular wound occurs, which is a major cause of impaired vision, and blindness. The research team hopes that by developing a more efficient and less invasive way to deliver the necessary drugs to heal the wound after surgery, the chances of scarring will be minimized.

The medicinal gel will be applied at the time of surgery, for the convenience of the patient. The gel will then release medication for up to 30 days after the surgery, allowing for long-term healing of the wound and delaying further vision impairment. The hope is that when this technology is available to ophthalmic surgeons, patients undergoing glaucoma surgical treatment will have reduced scarring and improved vision.

To learn more about ABIA’s Collaborative Research and Development Grant Program, visit www.abiakron.org/collaborative-research-and-development-grants