Devices & Diagnostics

Contest crowdsources ideas to help hospitals cut deadly hospital-acquired infections

Whether it’s sepsis, MRSA, or urinary tract infections, hospital-acquired infections are costing $34 billion in healthcare costs. They are also causing 100,000 deaths each year. Part of the costs are driven by lengthened hospital stays due to complications from these infections. Healthcare facilities have been trying to get their arms around the issue with varying […]

Whether it’s sepsis, MRSA, or urinary tract infections, hospital-acquired infections are costing $34 billion in healthcare costs. They are also causing 100,000 deaths each year. Part of the costs are driven by lengthened hospital stays due to complications from these infections. Healthcare facilities have been trying to get their arms around the issue with varying levels of success. A new contest pairing Edison Nation Medical with medical technology producer Hill Rom is betting that a 50 percent share in royalties will be a powerful motivator and attract several entrepreneurs.

If the group decides to license and idea, the developers will receive a $2,500 minimum advance on 20 years percentage of sales or buyout. We split the licensing royalties 50/50 with inventors on the products that we select.  The deadline for submitting entries is November 18.                                                                                                                                                                                                           Here are some of the ideas it’s looking for:

  • Reducing the spread of infection;
  • Sterilize/contain medical instruments and provide better infection and contamination monitoring;
  • Ways to improve compliance among healthcare providers;
  • Ways to do a better job of bacteria culture collection and diagnostics.

HAIs kill 100,000 people each year. Established and startup companies have developed imaginitive approaches to reducing the problem from sophisticated air ventilation systems to diagnostics tests that can spot signs of sepsis in its early stages and other ideas (like this one, this one and this one.. Hospital-acquired staph infections fell by more than 50 percent in the past decade, according to a study by the CDC.