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PHOTOS COURTESY OF ABIA PHOTOS �� SMITHBERGER PHOTOGRAPHY, NORTH CANTON In the ABIA Center for Simulation and Integrated Healthcare Education, healthcare professionals and students utilize robotic mannequins for hands-on training or hone their diagnostic skills with patient actors in one of eight standardized exam rooms. ���We ultimately want to be the recognized name in simulation training and development,��� says Dr. Holder. Value-Driven Engineering of Medical Devices The ABIA is all about problem-solving. Whether it is a process-based solution or brand new device, through its product research arms (the Centers for Biomaterials and Medicine, Medical Device Development, and Clinical Trials and Product Development), the Institute is working to provide an ideal 14 | Cleveland/Akron/Canton MD News environment for invention and testing of medical innovations that can keep America ��� and Akron ��� competitive on the global stage. ���The issue is how you engineer for value and to be globally competitive,��� says Dr. Douglas, who has worked with national leaders in various sectors to develop the national initiative known as Value-Driven Engineering. ���For example, with devices . . . if you seek to optimize the clinical utility for the end user, if you reduce complexity for the end user, and if you produce saving for the healthcare ��� MDNEWS.COM ��� JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2013 system, it will lead to innovation and we will produce products that are more cost-effective.��� The Institute is practicing what it preaches in an advanced prototype lab where devices invented by doctors, engineers and scientists at the founding partner institutions are already becoming testable realities. The so-called ProtoZone features computer-controlled machines for precision crafting of devices from plastic, metal or graphite. Capabilities include grinding, sandblasting and welding, as well as fine hand-working. Just as importantly, the ABIA offers evaluation of device feasibility, patentability, and value and, in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, provides evaluation of novel materials and the regulatory challenges they might face. So far, 25 product ideas have received support and funding from the ABIA and are moving toward development and testing. Drawing on the Akron area���s existing expertise in polymer sciences, the ABIA has identified wound care and orthopaedics as its two areas of focus for value-driven device development. Last year, the Institute formed the first spinoff company in a 10-year plan to create 40 such companies. The company, known as Apto Orthopaedics, is developing a non-invasive spinal fixation system for scoliosis. Another innovation on the drawing board at the ABIA is a biomedical sensor project. Developed in conjunction with seven Ohio institutions, Diagnostic Engineering Technologies for Evaluating Connective Tissues (DETECT) will eventually help patients at risk for chronic wounds and/or connective tissue degradation with sensor systems that will help doctors diagnose and monitor their problem areas. The project received a $2.6 million research and commercialization grant through the Ohio Third Frontier initiative and is expected to generate new licensing opportunities, spinoff companies and jobs. Currently, ABIA researchers are developing a material for time-released delivery of anti-scarring medications to the eye.