Solutions for diagnosing dysphagia (difficulty swallowing); for entering and exiting a vehicle safely; and for a lightweight, customized, affordable wheelchair were awarded the top three prizes in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) Innovation Challenge.
Now in its fourth iteration, the SHRS Challenge upped the ante to award $100,000 in prizes to assist the recipients with their plans to advance their innovations toward the market.
“In our academic world we spend a lot of effort in research generating knowledge. But it doesn’t have impact until people use it; when it’s translated into a product or service. That’s the ultimate success in our field. We’re trying to promote that “last mile” from the lab to the market,” said Dave Brienza, SHRS associate dean for technology & innovation.
“These teams have gone through a rigorous process over the past two months exploring the markets for their innovations and practicing their pitches. With the support of our Dean, Tony Detilo, we are excited to be able to provide additional funding this year to help these teams make an impact.”
Each of the 9 competing teams in the SHRS Challenge participated in an NSF I-Corps short course, designed to help them uncover the unmet needs their innovations could solve for potential users or customers.
“One of the key things we teach is to take a scientific approach to business development. You have a hypothesis of the value that your innovation might provide, but how do you prove that? You go out and interview potential customers to see what is important to them,” said Paul Petrovich, assistant director of business development at the Innovation Institute, part of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which co-administered the competition with SHRS.
Petrovich added that the teams also participated in mini-courses on how to do market research with Lamonica Wiggins, entrepreneurship and economics librarian at the Hillman Library, and an Innovation Institute short course on competition/market sizing and pitch deck/storytelling.
They also met with Innovation Institute entrepreneurs in residence for office hours and pitch presentation rehearsals.
Watch the competition final pitches here.
These are the teams that competed in the 2024 SHRS Innovation Challenge:
1st Place: $50,000
Aspirometer
Difficulty swallowing causes aspiration, the misdirection of food and liquid into the lungs. Pitt researchers have developed a novel, non-invasive sensor-based, artificial intelligence method of detecting swallowing dysfunction.
Presenters: James Coyle; Erin Lucatorto; Amanda Mahoney
Mentor: John McIntosh
2nd Place: $30,000
Kirigami Wheelchair
Over 75 million people need an appropriately fitted and affordable wheelchair. Engineers from Pitt’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories have created a wheelchair from laser-cut and bent sheet metal that increases the quality and customization of wheelchairs, while lowering costs.
Presenters: Jessica Steinberg and Danielle Scott
Mentor: Lloyd Cooper
3rd Place: $20,000
The Safer Seat
For individuals with decreased strength, balance or mobility, and their caregivers, PItt researchers have developed a vehicle seat overlay to facilitate safe transfer into and out of vehicles.
Presenter: Julia Faieta
Mentor: Dan Seitam
Jessica Steinberg, who led the pitch for the Kirigami Wheelchair team, said participating in the I-Corps short course and the other trainings for the competition helped drive home the value proposition of creating a custom-fit, lightweight wheelchair comparable in price to off-the-shelf non-customizable chairs made of heavy steel tubing.
She said the team will use the prize money to buy materials to fabricate wheelchairs for field testing, compensating participants in those studies and funding a co-op worker at Pitt’s Human Engineering Research Laboratories to help manage the next phase of the project.
Judges for the competition included Colleen Cassidy, director, innovation funding and program management at the Innovation Institute; Bambang Parmanto, chair of the Health Information Management Department at SHRS; Maj. Korey Kasper, an active duty physician with a focus on human performance optimization; and Linda van Roosmalen, a product development consultant focused on human factors engineering, safety and usability engineering, and biomechanics.
The rest of the competing teams included:
The Adapt App
Delirium is a sudden and severe change in brain function that can happen to anyone. The ADAPT App is a novel software assessment, prevention, and treatment app to improve management and outcomes of patients with delirium in hospital settings.
Presenters: Julianne Forzano; James Dunn
Mentor: Ryan Winkowski
Sweep-It
Sweep-It is a universally designed grabber tool that integrates with a commercially available “Hook-It” device and enables wheelchair users with limited hand function to pick up small objects such as credit cards, money, pens, and pieces of food off the floor.
Presenters: Matthew Kim; Mariana Muriel
Mentor: Jim Schriber
MRI Passport
Metals in implanted medical devices may interact with MRI fields, causing device movement or damage, injury, and death. MRI Passport improves screening for implants by addressing existing information exchange issues with a proprietary strategy for aggregating device information from multiple sources.
Inventors: Wendy Hoyt; Stephanie Ballard
Mentor: Julie Austin
Adjustable and Breathable Prosthetic Liner
There is a critical need for prosthetic liners that can reduce the risk of skin issues and discomfort for amputees. Pitt researchers have created an innovative liner that enhances breathability and accessibility for amputees utilizing advanced materials and design to improve comfort and skin health.
Presenters: Ezekiel Bibbo; Goeran Fiedler
Mentor: Dave Satina
HealthNav
Pitt researchers have developed an advanced AI-driven system tailored to transform emergency department triage by swiftly analyzing patient data to prioritize care delivery.
Presenter: Xingyu Zhang
Mentor: Adam Cunningham
Stairability
Pitt researchers have developed a novel stair climbing technology to support older adults to age in place safely and independently.
Presenter: Zachary Roy; Bronco York; Paulina Villacreces; Todd Hargroder
Mentor: Bob Huemmrich