Devices & Diagnostics, Hospitals

Cleveland Clinic gets industrial engineering partner to create new line of medical devices

Motion and control technologies developer Parker Hannifin Corporation and the Cleveland Clinic are collaborating on […]

Motion and control technologies developer Parker Hannifin Corporation and the Cleveland Clinic are collaborating on the development of more than 100 “potential medical advancements,” ranging from new medical devices to new ways of testing cells.

Pete Buca, innovation and technology vice president for Parker’s fluid connectors group, shared with MedCity News some of the forthcoming products, which are developed with a 50-50 partnership with Cleveland Clinic Innovations upon any commercialization.

They include a number of products designed to ease or enhance any number of procedures. So far, Buca was able to share details on a handful of emerging products, some of which could obtain full approval by the end of 2015. Some examples include:

– An optically clear endoscopic sheath, which has been submitted for FDA approval, designed to minimize the risk of infection during surgery. “It’s a sheathe that covers an endoscope, so it can be retrieved. It reduces the possibility of infections and is cleaner. It actually reduces the cost of the hospitalization,” Buca said.

– A Navis Torquer; the side-entry torquer directs guide wires through a patient’s body, often for
cardiac intervention surgery, angioplasties or stenting. “The key thing about this one is the wires are actually not round,” Buca said. “They’re square or triangular, so you can twist the wire and change the direction of the wire and re-bend it.” The current process involves the lengthy removal of the wire if it’s not placed correctly, resulting in possibly hours of work. “This improves the efficiencty of the procedure.”

– And a Cardioscpoe, which is a catheter that has a miniature camera embedded on the end that enables surgeons to watch more closely as its inserted through the Femoral artery and into the heart. “They can actually see the beating heart,” Buca said, adding that it’s less invasive for cardiac surgeries because the chances of the aortic valve leaking are reduced by proper placement.

Dozens of other ideas are in development. Buca said with the partnership, which is carried out using Parker’s Winnovation platform, Cleveland Clinic not only gets someone familiar with the life sciences and challenges in improving healthcare, but, in some cases, direct manufacturing, depending on the product. Yet one of the challenges is that each new product or idea may require its own business plan.

“When you develop a solution, you have to develop a business model,” he said. “The variety of business models is almost infinite. It some cases it’s simple. Parker might be the manufacturer. That had not been done – a product with its own supply chain was pretty unusual. What it does is greatly accelerate the product.”

Dr. Thomas Graham, chief innovation officer at Cleveland Clinic, said: “There is compelling logic and practical benefit in associating with Parker Hannifin because of its … expertise in engineering and motion control, which apply to current and future challenges in healthcare.”

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