Cuyahoga County, BioEnterprise, HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) and The Global Center for Health Innovation (GCHI), are pleased to announce the inaugural Medical Capital Innovation Competition “All Things Data in Healthcare” winners:

OPEN DIVISION

1^st Place/$50,000: MedRespond, Pittsburgh, PA – Patients often have questions about their medical treatment. Sometimes they don’t know what to expect and are thus nervous, or misunderstand instructions given in the doctor’s office. MedRespond simulates a conversation online, providing answers to medical questions while also collecting vital patient information.

2^nd Place/$25,000: Rubitection, Pittsburgh, PA – Rubitection’s product is a low cost, noninvasive handheld tool for early bedsore assessment. Utilizing optical technology, the Rubitect Assessment System includes a measurement probe with a sterile cover and data tracking software.

3^rd Place/$15,000: Hyr Medical, Cleveland, OH – To address the many problems of hospital staffing,

Hyr Medical connects doctors and hospitals via a web-based platform – bypassing inefficient locum agencies.

COLLEGIATE DIVISION

1^st Place/$6,000: NeuroRad Vision, Cleveland, OH – NeuroRadVision is a computerized decision support software toolkit, employing novel and advanced artificial intelligence and image analysis algorithms to differential recurrent brain tumors from benign radiation-induced treatment effects.

2^nd Place/$3,000: HealthTech Solutions, Iowa City, IA – HealthTech Solutions is developing a mobile application called Organizer, which facilitates instantaneous communication and information flow for organ procurement organizations.

3^rd Place/$1,000: EXAID, Pittsburgh, OH – EXAID is developing a HIPAA-compliant clinical trial matching application to quickly match oncology patients with trials and expedite the drug validation process.         

“Innovation and entrepreneurialism are a part of the spirit of Cuyahoga County,” said Armond Budish, Cuyahoga County Executive. “I am honored to congratulate the winning teams and I invite them to keep their hearts and minds connected to Cleveland, where our world-renowned healthcare facilities, educational institutions and public-private partnerships foster continued growth in the healthcare and biomedical industries. Together we can build a thriving and prosperous region.”

The Innovation Competition attracted 180 applications from industry professionals and university students from across the world. The final participants included 27 teams – 22 Professional and 5 Collegiate– from 11 U.S. states and Canada.

In addition to cash prizes, the winning teams will receive meaningful assistance, including mentoring and access to world-class healthcare systems and collaborators. Open division first place winners also receive an opportunity to demonstrate innovation at the HIMSS18 Conference in March 2018.

“HIMSS’s vision is better health through the best use of IT.  And, the Medical Capital Innovation Competition takes us all a step closer to realizing that vision,” said Carla Smith, executive vice president of HIMSS. “We champion competitions such as this because they support a culture of innovation, solve problems the health sector faces, help businesses flourish, and support job creation. I have been truly impressed with the caliber of the professional and collegiate teams from around the country; I’m eager to follow their progress towards improving the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of health and healthcare.”

Competing teams represented a variety of big data healthcare categories including patient engagement and compliance, clinical trial optimization, EHR (electronic health records) optimization, and decision support. For a complete list of participating teams and their product solutions go to www.MedicalInnovationCompetition.org.  

“This major health IT innovation competition was held here in Cleveland, The Medical Capital for several reasons,”said Aram Nerpouni, president and CEO, BioEnterprise. “It’s home to more than 45 health IT companies including IBM Explorys, Hyland Software and OnShift; health IT investment more than doubled to $50 million in 2016; and the region is home to world-class healthcare and research assets that young companies want to collaborate with to grow their companies.”

For more information: www.TheMedicalCapital.com.