News Archive

The organizers of the 2nd Annual Symposium for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and Competition judges are seeking proposals from inventors in medical institutions, private practices, device companies, and academic researchers who have medical device concepts or ideas for use with pediatric patients.

Proposals should address a significant, yet unmet need within the pediatric population with a device idea that lends itself to commercialization. Following the competition process, two prizes will be given, each for up to $50,000.

Please follow this link http://www.pediatric-surgery-symposium.org/prizes/ to review the submission guidelines and to submit your application online by September 22, 2014 at 17:00 EST.

GlaxoSmithKline, better known as GSK, has launched a new web effort aimed at providing both information and inspiration for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in what the company says is arguably the most engaging platform in the marketplace.

The rollout of the new COPD.com goes beyond what was previously offered, certainly by GSK but possibly many others, according to Darielle Ruderman, senior director of repository consumer marketing for the North Carolina-based company.

The mobile revolution was one of the most transformative events in IT. It set IT in a tailspin trying to secure so many different device types connecting to the network and moving outside of the organization.

After initial resistance, IT realized that by supporting mobility they were supporting user productivity. And thus an established industry of mobile device management solutions was born, allowing IT to create policies and strike a balance between data security and mobility.

Much of the discussion on big data has focused on claims information from insurers and EHRS from providers, but a collaborative effort underway at Stanford Medical School with SAP is hoping to tap into a different set – genomic data.

The possible benefits of sharing genetic data on a wide scale have great potential for both global population health and for drug makers alike, said Dr. Carlos Bustamante, who heads the Department of Genetics at the Stanford School of Medicine. Benefits range from possibly learning why certain drugs never make it out of clinical trials because of what population they are tested on to a more inclusive global snapshot at differing populations and what drives their health spending, among others.

Montgomery County Department of Economic Development (DED) announces the addition of Valerie Fremont as Senior Business Development Specialist for the County’s life sciences and health IT sectors. Fremont brings 13 years of industry experience to the County along with experience in the international, national and regional biotech community.

”We are happy to welcome Valerie to the department and fortunate to be able to call upon her vast experience in the life sciences arena,” said DED Director Steve Silverman. “Not only does she bring a wealth of knowledge of two of our most important sectors—life sciences and health IT—but she also is already well known in that community. The County and our companies in those sectors will all benefit mutually from those important connections.”

Today, the American Heart Association has launched the Chicago Open Innovation Challenge, a crowdfunding competition to uncover new innovative digital health tools to prevent or manage heart disease and stroke. The top three finalists will receive grants from the American Heart Association totaling $25,000 and a chance to present at the Heart Innovation Forum in Chicago on November 14, 2014. Each award winner will be featured on healthcare crowdfunding platform MedStartr.

Who Can Apply?  Early-stage healthcare technology and life sciences companies with novel ideas that seek to help patients, providers or medical facilities meet the American Heart Association’s 2020 Impact Goal—to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent by the year 2020—are encouraged to apply. 

The answers Bert Vogelstein needed and feared were in the blood sample. 

Vogelstein is among the most highly cited scientists in the world. He was described, in the 1980s, as having broken into “the cockpit of cancer” after he and coworkers at Johns Hopkins University showed for the first time exactly how a series of DNA mutations, adding up silently over decades, turn cells cancerous. Damaged DNA, he helped prove, is the cause of cancer.

Now imagine you could see these mutations—see cancer itself—in a vial of blood. Nearly every type of cancer sheds DNA into the bloodstream, and Vogelstein’s laboratory at Johns ­Hopkins has developed a technique, called a “liquid biopsy,” that can find the telltale genetic material.

DC I-Corps, a new, NSF-supported program designed to foster, grow and nurture an innovation ecosystem in the Mid-Atlantic Region, is now accepting applications for its fall cohort, beginning on October 9. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis up until that date. Apply here.

Open to research teams and technology entrepreneurs from universities, federal laboratories, agencies and the general community, the free program guides researchers in exploring the commercial potential of their inventions.

Through DC I-Corps, you will:

• Significantly improve your chances for SBIR and other grant funding, as well as early stage venture investment;
• Work closely with six or more real-world advisors that have startup, venture capital, and technology commercialization experience over a six-week period; and
• Come to a clear go or no-go decision regarding the commercial potential of your technology.

The program is geared towards innovations coming from engineering fields, medical/health/life sciences, and physical and computer sciences. DC I-Corps builds upon the successful National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps program.

The program is jointly offered by the University of Maryland, George Washington University, Virginia Tech, and Johns Hopkins University. For more information and to apply, technology researchers and entrepreneurs are encouraged to visit www.dcicorps.org.

Are you a company in the fields of cloud computing, network security, interoperability, chemical and biological defense, infectious disease or vaccines?  Then you’ll want to attend the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development’s Defense Labs Tech Transfer event which includes panel discussions and a tech transfer showcase.   Hear from Federal Labs including NSA, DISA, RDECOM, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC), and USAMRIID, see demonstrations, speak with inventors, discuss available patents, licenses, collaborations and commercialization of new technologies to add to your portfolio.  

Featuring:    

Tech Transfer Showcase 9:00 a.m. –  4:00 p.m. – Visit the exhibit floor and see the latest technologies being developed by NSA, DISA, RDECOM, USAMRIID, and the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. 

As the dust settles from this past week’s mammoth $1.3 billion merger, Siemens Health Services CEO John Glaser tells Healthcare IT News what led up to the Cerner deal, how his experience as a health system CIO could help smooth integration challenges and what to expect – from the two companies and electronic health records in general – over the months and years to come.