WE CLE ARLY HAVE a long way to
go to get past this virus. So many
challenges, and so many thanks
for all front line clinicians and staff
who have gotten us this far.
There a re some bright spots
of i n nov at ion emer g i n g f rom
the chaos. As with any period of
complexity, we are also presented
with great opportunities for change.
The key will be improving the
disaster we have seen in supply cha in. For a ny of us who
tried to buy masks, gloves or other protective materia ls
for organizations, the f luctuating qua lity, costs and globa l
fraud involved in obta ining that equipment suggests we
need to remold our ma nufact ur i ng a nd supply cha i n .
Innovators, please jump in!
We need to examine access to care and the disparities that
emerged across urban and rural communities. This means
determining how we use data and best practices to better
assess and understand these disparities and create a response
system for the next pandemic. This also means better systems
for addressing vaccine and treatment protocols.
The isolation a nd fea r that ha s emerged for at-risk
elders living at home or in long-term care facilities needs
attention. How do we provide better protection and support?
Great opportunity exists to apply emergency management
algorithms to protecting important community members.
While these trends suggest new opportunities, innovation
in health care is already happening on many fronts.
In ta lking to graduates and startups, I keep stressing
this time as an chance to advance bold new ideas and new
products. Some examples of promising new startups from the
Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at Syracuse
University include:
MedUX: medux-llc.com is an award-winning medical
product company based on user-centered design. Its first
product is a wearable/portable IV system for people in hospital,
infusion center and home infusion settings. This product is
also used in emergency first response and military situations,
offering patients infusion treatment without being tethered
to an IV pole.
PAANI: paa nisolutions.com, a venture developed by
t wo fema le founders, addresses a public hea lth crisis
in India, where 163 million people lack access to clea n
water. Using a traditiona l sa ri cloth, they engineered a
culturally appropriate filtration system to capture pathogens
and particulates.
Visos: visosvr.com is a VR platform specifically for medical
applications, working in conjunction with a team of advisors
that include leaders in the health industry.
Promptous: promptous.com is led by a team building a
digital health innovation venture in the insurtech space. It is a
blockchain-powered platform to make access to dental benefits
simple, seamless and transparent. Their goal is to help make
dental benefits affordable and accessible to the 74 millions
who go without dental insurance.
I n - S p i r e : n e w s . s y r . e d u / b l o g / 2 0 1 8 / 0 4 / 2 4 /
engineering-and-computer-science-students-win-panasci-
business-plan-competition-with-wearable-inha ler, is a
sleek wristband asthma inhaler developed by two female
founders who won the CNY Biotech Accelerator Medical
Device Innovation.
SugEx: dailyorange.com/2019/10/su-senior-invents-
watch-monitor-glucose-levels-diabetes-diagnosis , a wearable
technology to make glucose monitoring easier, was developed
by an engineering student and industrial design student (one
of whom was unexpectedly diagnosed with juvenile diabetes
while in college).
If you have any interest in being a mentor for a promising
student startup, head to launchpad.syr.edu. Mentors play a
key role in accelerating learning about application in a clinical
setting. I've served as a mentor for MedUX and have enjoyed
watching many a great product be launched.
It's a challenging time, and if you encounter a student
concerned about the future, share the exciting startup ideas
that are emerging for health care and the opportunities that
they can help to explore.
Kathryn Ruscitto, Advisor, can be reached on LinkedIn at
Kathrynruscitto or at krusct@gmail.com. n
BY K ATHRYN RUSCITTO
Innovation in Health Care
For further ideas on innovation in health care:
covidinnovations.com
rockhealth.com/portfolio
startupdigest.com/digests/health
builtin.com/healthcare-technology
M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A l N E W Y O R K
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