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Industry

Industry involvement

Engineering Innovation in Health (EIH) develops technical solutions to pressing challenges in health. We welcome projects from your company that will benefit from a collaborative working team of industry professionals, UW students, and faculty.

Benefits

By participating in EIH, you have the opportunity to:

  • Develop innovative technical solutions that bring value to your company.
  • Vet a solution to a challenging problem, perhaps one that you don’t have the resources to pursue in-house.
  • Generate a deeper understanding of a health challenge, market, current solutions, intellectual property, and regulatory strategy that engages a comprehensive set of stakeholders.
  • Work closely with a diverse group of UW students and faculty from engineering, health sciences, and business.
  • Strengthen your relationship with the UW for recruiting student talent and for engaging in future projects.
  • Leverage world class infrastructure and facilities at UW.
  • Receive a nonexclusive commercial license to any project intellectual property developed by the student team or UW employees.

Involvement

The Engineering Innovation in Health program runs for 9 months. Projects typically start in the fall (October) and run for three quarters (ending in June).

Participating companies pay a sponsorship fee and designate an employee lead to mentor the team. The mentor meets with the team weekly to help them understand the problem in depth and guide the solution pathway.

Intellectual property is governed by existing federal and state laws and is subject to best practices of the University of Washington technology transfer office, CoMotion. A company wholly owns its existing intellectual property. A nonexclusive, commercial license will be granted to any project intellectual property developed by the student team or UW employees. Additional, pre-negotiated options for exclusive licenses have been standardized as part of the Washington Innovation Advantage Program.

The EIH process starts with industry sponsors or clinicians submitting a project idea that focuses on an unmet health challenge and ultimately ends with a working prototype solution, which can take the form of a device, process, or application. Project submissions are due on a rolling basis between May and August each year. We welcome you to reach out to us and discuss your ideas. Please contact EIHealth@uw.edu to learn more.

 

Submit a health challenge

 

Sample projects

For a full list of previous projects, visit the Projects section.

EnsuriNG »

The nasogastric tube (NG tube) is often placed by nurses and at-home caretakers. However, the procedure of insertion lacks clear guidance. Misplaced tubes cause many complications that may develop into serious problems such as pneumothorax, nose erosion, or laryngeal edema with asphyxia. Tube misplacement is especially an issue in neonates, with as high as 43% of NG tube misplacement occurring in this population. The EnsuriNG team is developing an inexpensive, easy-to-use solution that guides tube placement and helps confirm tip placement. Using optics and acoustics, the EnsuriNG device enables nurses and caretakers to be better informed of the NG tube tip position during the post-placement.

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EnsuriNG

Improved Percutaneous Gastrostomy Tube »

Gastrostomy tubes (g-tubes) enable patients to receive adequate nutrition who otherwise could not. G-tubes that are placed through the skin percutaneously have a tendency to dislodge, necessitating an unanticipated and expensive clinical procedure. This new g-tube design can be placed percutaneously and has improved retention. The resulting g-tube design features a bell that crushes for easy insertion and then inverts to provide superior retention.

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Diagram of an improved gastronomy tube

Advanced Multi-Organ Regeneration (AMOR) »

AMOR stands for Advanced Multi-Organ Regeneration and sought to address the unmet needs of 1.7 billion people suffering from chronic liver disease. Developing on research pioneered by UW medicine, AMOR developed a hemofiltration and albumin dialysis device concept that can remove the blood toxins specific to liver failure.

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Members of team AMOR present their project at the annual EIH Spring Symposium