Past Projects

Otolaryngologists team: Kevin Jacob, Brooke Barrow, Elizabeth Grau

Clinical Problem: Postoperative hypocalcemia due to iatrogenic injury and/or removal of parathyroid glands during thyroidectomy is a frequent complication that reduces quality of life for patients and incurs large costs to hospital systems. The issue often stems from the lack of an efficient and ergonomic method of identifying the parathyroid glands intraoperatively. Therefore, an alternative method of parathyroid identification is needed to reduce the frequency of postoperative hypocalcemia.

Cardio/Thoracic team: Connor Smith, Justin White, Eric Engelbrecht, Christian Flynn

Clinical Problem: Mechanical ventilation for critically ill patients is both a life-saving intervention and a substantial risk factor for the acquisition of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Patients who develop VAP often require increased time in the hospital and suffer from pneumonia-related complications, increasing the overall cost of care. To reduce morbidity, mortality, and overall cost associated with VAP, our team aims to improve the endotracheal tubing that is used for mechanical ventilation.

Neurosurgery team: OlaDele Osisami, Sneha Chhachhi, Kelly Klump, Hanna Thompson

Clinical Problem: Strokes affect 795,000 people in the US each year and are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Often, delayed care in stroke management can have disastrous outcomes that are otherwise preventable. As such, we have decided to pursue an innovation that helps patients improve their ability to recognize early signs of stroke as defined by well-established guidelines. With this innovation, we hope to improve time to intervention and thus improve outcomes and prevent complications that come from delayed care.