UH Ventures Spurs Innovation with $5,000 Awards Aimed at Bringing Ideas to Fruition

CLEVELAND, Ohio – UH Ventures, the innovation and commercialization arm of University Hospitals, is spurring ideation throughout the system and has created a proven model for generating creativity and solutions to improve patient care. At the 12th annual Belcher-Weir Family Pediatrics & Women’s Health Innovation Day, which takes place virtually on Thursday, March 4, the UH Ventures team will be awarding three teams with $5,000 in funding to further develop, protect, commercialize and implement their ideas. These winners were chosen from numerous entries submitted for the novelty of their ideas, the thoroughness of their approach, and the possible impact on care delivery at UH and beyond. The winners are as follows:

• Drs. Monica Bhola, Ganga Srinivas, Melanie Stempowski, and Amy Sondles, RN: Giving Every Newborn the Perfect Start in Life. Neonatal specialists would facilitate monthly mock emergency drills with staff at UH community hospital nurseries to ensure optimal outcomes for babies born under emergency circumstances.
• Drs. Mohammad Khan and Christopher Snyder: Murmurs in Pediatric Cardiology, Empowering the Average Listener. These doctors plan to build a database of heart murmurs to test and develop an algorithm using artificial intelligence to identify the murmurs as innocent or abnormal.
• Drs. Richard Helms, Maryo Kohen and Faruk Orge: Magnetic Nasolacrimal Intubation System. Opthalmologists will enhance the monocanalicular intubation procedure by developing a system to quickly and efficiently resolve a blocked tear duct.

“Discovery is truly in our health system’s DNA,” says Claudia Hoyen, MD, Director of Infection Control and Pediatric Innovation at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. “What began as a grass roots effort to formalize clinician’s ideas to improve patient care and was further enhanced by the generous support of the Belcher-Weir family is now making waves in product development and process improvement.”

Growing stronger every year, the Belcher-Weir Family Innovation Day is generously supported by longtime UH friend and benefactor Jack Belcher. Mr. Belcher, a retired educator and administrator for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, is committed to bettering the lives of UH Rainbow patients and families. His endowed support of the annual event nurtures and celebrates the ingenuity that leads to medical breakthroughs, helping to transform dreams into reality.

The event will feature presentations from the three award-winning teams and includes a keynote address by Omkar Kulkarni, MPH, Chief Innovation Officer, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Managing Director of KidsX. Later in the day, UH Ventures will partner with Plug and Play Cleveland for a session on the future of women’s health, and how innovation can positively impact the health and financial wellness of mothers in the community. The virtual event will include a conversation with Heather Ettinger, Founder and CEO of Luma Wealth, and Dr. Hoyen about addressing the challenges facing mothers as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, attendees will hear pitches from three startups using innovative technology to assist and support mothers.