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CMI Funded Projects

A goal of the Center for Medical Innovation (CMI) is to provide an organizational structure and process to link faculty, clinicians, and students to foster the creation of innovative biomedical technologies applied to medical problems.

Funded Research

334

Proposals

81

Funded

$1.56M

Seed Funds

$2.1M

Follow-On Funds

9

New Companies

CMI Funded Projects

CMI has successfully funded a number of projects over the years. The details and specifics of each of our funded projects can be found below. Navigate to the individual project to learn more about the impact and support provided.

 

Team Members
Carl Synderman, MD
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Respair: A Cuff-less Endotracheal Tube Designed to Prevent Ventilator Associated Pneumonia

Development of a simplified, low-cost, disposable endotracheal tube that utilizes layers of baffles to create a long-lasting seal. This design helps prevent leaks that lead to ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP).

Novel Ventriculoamniotic Shunt For Fetal Aqueductal Stenosis

Severe fetal central nervous system (CNS) hydrocephalus occurs 3-5 cases per 10,000 deliveries. Aqueductal Stenosis (AS) is a developmental anomaly that causes hydrocephalus by obstructing the brain’s ventricular system. Older style shunts are still placed in fetuses with lesions other than AS, and technology has hardly improved since then. The team is developing a device that improves upon ventriculoamniotic shunting for fetal isolated AS using modern prenatal diagnostics, materials, and design factors. Unlikely to dislodge, reflux-resistant, percutaneous, and CNS-compatible, the device would outperform earlier versions. With CMI funding, the team has been able to produce preliminary data to support external grant applications. The technology has also attracted industry interests.

Organevac/whole Organ Thrombolysis Device

Currently there are around 14,000 individuals listed on the liver transplant wait list, with only 7000 getting transplants and 2200 of them die waiting for livers. The early stage seed grant will demonstrate proof of concept of a new technology to lyse thrombus in human liver tissue. The technology will greatly enhance viability of transplanted liver tissue.

A Novel Thermal Block Technology To Block Nerve Conduction

Many chronic disorders like obesity, chronic pain, heart failure and bladder voiding dysfunction are caused by neuronal overactivity in the peripheral or central nervous system. Currently, there is no safe and reliable method to suppress or block peripheral nerve activity that can be used for these broad clinical applications. The grant will be used to develop an implantable thermal nerve block that will be safe and easily deliverable.

Objective Postpartum Uterine Tone Monitoring

Death from postpartum hemorrhage is one of the most common preventable causes of maternal death in the United States, and is the single leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. There is currently no objective measurement of uterine contraction, which is most responsible for postpartum hemorrhage. The grant will be used to develop a novel uterine tone measurement device for testing in the clinical setting. The device would evaluate intra-uterine muscle tone for detection of and control of postpartum bleeding.

Regenmatrix: Collagen-mimetic Bioactive Hydrogels For Bone Regeneration

20% of high-impact bone fractures result in delayed healing or non-union, but there is no effective treatment for induction of bone regeneration. RegenMatrix is a bioactive hydrogel, designed to mimic the bone regenerative microenvironment, which would improve on the limited bone regrowth outcomes from devices that provide mechanical support alone.

The Esophocclude: Temporary Esophagus Occlusion For Emergent Intubation

Gastric aspiration is a devastating complication of intubation and other clinical scenarios. An estimated 3.5% of intubations result in aspiration. 8-10% of affected patients die, and others experience repeated lung infections. Worse, it is underreported and misdiagnosed. The Esophocclude is a medical device that functions to prevent inadvertent flow of gastric contents into the lungs during emergent endotracheal intubation.

Intrapancreatic Lipid Nanoparticles To Treat Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus has become a massive worldwide problem. In the US, it is the number one biomedical financial burden. Recent analyses reveal that nearly 30 million Americans suffer from diabetes mellitus. The grant will be used for the development of a nanoparticle technology for the treatment of diabetes. This gene therapy could potentially reduce or eliminate the need for insulin therapy or even oral hypoglycemic agents.

Motorized, Flexible Arm Retractor For Open Abdominal Surgery

Open abdominal surgery presents several challenges: anatomic complexity, depth of the cavity, fragility of the different organs present, and technical issues exacerbated by morbid obesity. Current retractor technology is bulky, obtrusive, inefficient, and hasn’t notably progressed in 30 years. The team is developing a new type of surgical retractor that has the benefits of almost-instant setup time, ease of use and flexible-but-strong retraction. Surgeons would find these controls much easier to use during the stages of surgery. With the successful utilization of early stage seed grant from CMI, the team was able to secure funding from Coulter in 2017 for further development.

Hemoglobin Replacement Device Treatment Of Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle Cell Disease, also known as hemoglobinopathy, is a genetic defect resulting in abnormal structure of the hemoglobin molecules. Abnormally shaped RBCs cause gradual, eventually fatal damage to all organs. Transfusion of normal RBCs prolongs life, but repeated transfusion leads to alloimmunization. The team is developing a hemoglobin replacement device that would replace the patient’s abnormal hemoglobin with donor hemoglobin, preventing alloimmunization and improving the disease treatment.

Minimally Invasive Delivery Of Therapeutic Cells To Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

7-10% of US males are affected by abdominal aortic aneurysm, a focal balloon-like dilatation of the distal aorta. A rupture is life-threatening, being 13th leading cause of death in the US. Large aneurysms can be treated with surgery, but there is no existing treatment for small aneurysms, which grow over time. The team is working on a localized delivery of therapeutic cells that will induce healing of the small abdominal aortic aneurysms—preventing or delaying surgery.

I-hits: Individualized Hand Improvement And Tracking System After Stroke

Stroke, or the sudden interruption of blood supply of the brain, is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Eighty five percent of the 795,000 individuals who sustain a stroke annually in the United States have difficulty moving one arm or hand, significantly affecting their long-term independence. I-HITS is a wearable motion capture wristband and a web-based software application that would facilitate patient engagement with their stroke treatment goals, compliance and communication of rehabilitation progress to clinicians. With CMI funding, the team has successfully made a functional prototype of the product, and were also the finalist in the PInCn 2017 Innovation Challenge.

Threadrite Iv: Novel Way To Quickly And Accurately Place Iv Catheters

Peripheral vascular access drug delivery is a mainstay of modern healthcare. Virtually all ER and hospital patients get peripheral IV lines, yet under half of attempted placements are successful. With 1.2 billion pIVs purchased in N. America last year, there is significant risks of extravascular injection of harmful drugs.. ThreadRite IV is a detection unit with disposable catheter units, which is designed similarly to standard catheters, adding insulating plastic that leaves only the tip exposed to act as an electrode. The detector is able to determine when the electrode is approaching blood.