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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.

BIBLOC: Bite Block Redesign »

Approximately 14.5 million orally invasive imaging procedures such as endoscopy, echocardiography, and bronchoscopy are performed annually in the U.S. A bite block is a single-use medical device designed to keep the mouth open during such imaging procedures. Unfortunately, commercially available products suffer from structural and/or material challenges that tend to result in unwanted complications such as patient injury (i.e. the bite block is too stiff and injures patient’s teeth) and equipment damage (i.e. the bite block gets dislodged and the patient bites down on the imaging device). BIBLOC is a redesigned bite block that is the result of numerous design iterations each taking into account surveys from various stakeholders and material properties testing. BIBLOC is an easily securable bite block providing dual protection of both the patient and the imaging equipment.

Neonatal Intubating Laryngeal Mask Airway »

Thousands of infants require oxygen after birth each year. The most common and secure way to provide assistance is intubation, where a tube is passed through the vocal cords into the trachea to provide a secure airway to deliver oxygen using a mechanical ventilator. It is difficult to intubate neonates because of the size and position of their vocal cords. Laryngeal mask airways (LMA) are more easily placed than intubation tubes; however, they are not considered a secure airway that can be used for extended periods. The Neonatal Intubating Laryngeal Mask Airway device can be quickly placed to provide life-saving oxygen to a newborn and then can be simply transformed to a secure intubation tube with no interruption in oxygen flow.

Neonatal Intubating LMA

Parastomal Hernia Support Harness »

Patients who have undergone gastrointestinal stoma formation surgery are at high risk for parastomal hernias. Specially designed support belts help prevent patients from forming hernias, but existing belts are ineffective, uncomfortable, and difficult to don. This improved hernia support harness is easy to use and stays in place when the wearer moves. A foam disk on the inside of the belt distributes the force on the abdomen, and the wearer can adjust the force applied to hernia-risk regions with the simple turn of a dial. The prototype development of this project continues and human subject studies are soon underway.

Parastomal Hernia Support Harness