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Biotech heavily represented in Northeast Ohio innovation awards

Seven out of 10 Innovation Awards to be given Wednesday evening by NorTech and Crain’s Cleveland Business will go to companies or institutions that have developed products for the biomedical industry.

By Mary Vanac on February 16, 2009

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Biomedical companies and institutions dominate this year’s awards honoring industry-changing innovations from Northeast Ohio.

Seven of the 10 Innovation-Award winners create biomedical technologies. The ninth annual honor is sponsored by NorTech, the regional technology developer, and Crain’s Cleveland Business. Winners will be honored Wednesday.

“We believe the innovations being recognized today will lay the groundwork for building new technology industries for the future of our region,” Dorothy Baunach, NorTech’s president and chief executive, said in a written statement.

Biomedical organizaitons to be honored Wednesday:

  • Case Western Reserve School of Medicine for diagnostic tests used by doctors and researchers to determine drug resistance to and strength of HIV viruses. The tests can guide HIV treatment and may help develop better vaccines for the virus. Diagnostic Hybrids Inc. is using Case technology to develop HIV-related tests in Cleveland and Athens, Ohio.
  • Pathogen Systems Inc. for a liquid crystal-based antibody system that can quickly detect pathogens, like cholera, in water samples. This technology could replace microbiological tests that require incubation periods of up to 24 hours.
  • KenCak LLC and the University of Akron for an implantable device made from spun nanofibers and insulin-producing cells from pigs. The device is a long-term treatment for diabetes.
  • NASA Glenn Research Center and ZIN Technologies for a compact, wireless biometric monitoring system originally designed to track the health of astronauts while on the International Space Station.  This system could enable medical care givers to remotely monitor the health of patients, reducing the frequency of hospital stays and nursing visits, which could reduce health care costs.
  • NeuroWave Systems Inc. for a system that monitors patient brain activity while under anesthesia. The real-time evaluation of brain waves could improve patient care by reducing the risks associated with anesthesia and reducing patient recovery time. NeuroWave is a spin-off of Cleveland Medical Devices Inc.
  • Quality Electrodynamics LLC for developing coils for MRI machines that dramatically improve the resolution of diagnostic images. Doctors could use the clearer images to better detect cancer and other diseases. The coils also reduce the time patients spend inside MRI machines.
  • Sensor Development Corp. for a platform technology that detects deadly micro-toxins in food supplies, especially grains and nuts, during storage or transport.