In addition to streamlining the registration process, PatientSecure also helps caregivers identify unconscious patients. If that patient has been registered at UMC previously, caregivers will be able to access his medical record and ascertain pre-existing medical conditions. 

UMC officials say no other hospital in the region is using this technology and they are using it at all UMC outpatient facilities. 

MedCityNews.com, one of the fastest growing online magazines in healthcare and life sciences, published a story about TeVido BioDevices. The story says that the new technology “could be one of the new products in the $8.4 billion market of 3D printer products projected for 2025” and that the technology could make plastic surgery cheaper and more successful.  If all goes well for TeVido, doctors might be able to print breast implants using a patient’s own fat. The story goes on detail TeVido’s next steps toward commercializing its technology.

MedCityNews.com covers the business of healthcare and life science innovation for decision makers in the healthcare industry.  Located in Cleveland, Ohio, the publication offers insight into what’s next and what matters with a mix of breaking news and analysis on startups and established industry leaders, personalities, policies and the most important deals.

Texas company working on better breast implants from an inkjet printer     

MedCityNews.com         

Skin printing technology at UTEP is selected for business development  [originally posted Sept. 11, 2012]

     TeVido BioDevices , a cutting-edge startup business of UTEP professor Thomas Boland, is 1 of 12 startup companies selected to participate in the fall semester class of the Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs of the University of Texas at Austin.  Boland, PhD, who is UTEP’s director of Biomedical Engineering Programs, will see TeVido benefit from the Texas Venture Labs’ “growth stage” program, which selects companies that have a product, have had an early round of funding and possibly have revenue-generating customers.

     On its blog, the Texas Venture Labs wrote:  "TeVido uses the innovative process of printing human-like skin tissue for the development of skin substitute products for chronic wound care, burn treatment and reconstructive surgery. The implications for people suffering from severe burns and chronic non-healing wounds range from pain, reduced quality of life, loss of productivity and unsightly scarring all the way to amputation of part or all of a limb." 

     Texas Venture Labs has a two-pronged mission:

• Accelerate start-ups from UT and Central Texas toward raising capital and taking their innovations to market
• Create an experience that transforms UT Graduate students into future entrepreneurs and business leaders

TeVido BioDevices  
 
Texas Venture Labs at UT Austin    

“I can’t give up, I have a drug that will help people – a drug that works,” Moss said in a March 2013 story written by UTEP University Communications. “We have to make the company work. We’re not going to make billions. We may not make anything, and it may never make it to patients, but I still have to try.”

Created for the sole purpose of developing MSF, Brain-Tools is a collaboration between Moss and James Summerton, PhD, owner of Gene Tools, LLC. – a drug company in Oregon.  The two hope to crowd-fund some $30 million by the end of the year to help complete the expensive clinical trials. They will also apply for Orphan Drug status under the Food and Drug Administration.  If approved, the team would receive additional funding and aid from the government to help in the endeavor.

“If we’re successful, we plan to pay everyone back who helped us raise the funds,” Moss said. “We will then produce and distribute it at an affordable price for everyone.”

The psychobiologist recently published a book titled Alzheimer’s: My Journey to a Next Generation Treatment discussing his frustrations and struggle to get a better drug to patients with the disease.  

Although MSF does not stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration, it can delay symptoms and help the brain recover from memory loss so that patients can function more normally.

Brain Tools blog                     Brain Tools, LLC.                UTEP news               El Paso Inc. story  

The Department of Medical Education at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) has announced it now offers medical students the Anatomage DICOM viewer.  It works like a giant tablet or pad and can display various 3D views and cross-sections of healthy and diseased bodies. Virtual dissections can be made with the viewer’s scalpel tool. This technology gives students an opportunity to intuitively explore the intricacies of human anatomy as seen by CT and MRI. It also helps students learn to interpret a simple chest X-ray. Anatomage can display a CT scan as if it were a plain X-ray and convert the 2D image into 3D. The technology complements a cadaver-based dissection course and it helps to integrate radiology into anatomy instruction. Students can visualize and manipulate skeletal tissues, muscles, organs, etc. The study tool also offers convenience because students can interact with a life size anatomic representation of a donor without having to put on scrubs and go to the anatomy lab.

Anatomage website    

El Paso Inc.  

Database of electronic medical records needs more physician participation  [originally posted Oct. 11, 2011]  

The Paso del Norte Health Foundation is developing a system that will make patients' digital health information available to hospitals, physicians, pharmacies and labs in El Paso anywhere, anytime.  Right now, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation is asking El Paso physicians to show their support for the local health information exchange by signing a letter affirming they are open to the idea.

These "health information exchanges" have gained traction nationwide since funding was made available with the passage of the federal economic stimulus package in 2009.  El Paso’s project is being called the Paso del Norte Health Information Exchange and could be up and running by the first quarter of 2012.

If you are a physician in El Paso County interested in this project, contact Program Officer Jon Law at 915-544-7636 or jlaw@pdnhf.org.

The Information Exchange formed its board in January.  It includes University Medical Center of El Paso President and CEO Jim Valenti, Paso del Norte Health Foundation CEO Myrna Deckert, Texas Tech Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Regional Dean Jose Manuel de la Rosa, Del Sol Medical Center CEO Jacob Cintron, Sierra Providence Health Network CEO John Harris, and city Public Health Department director Michael Hill.  Dr. Bob Emmick has represented the El Paso Medical Society on the board, but recently moved to Alaska. Deckert says they are searching for a replacement now.

Paso del Norte Health Information Exchange website  

El Paso Inc. 

Paso del Norte Health Foundation 

To learn about transitioning your medical practice from paper records to electronic, and to find out how you may receive financial assistance for the transition, click here.

The West Texas Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (WTxHITREC) has announced it is now offering a new 3-tier system aimed at helping specialists who want to transition to an electronic health records system.  The new tiered system is designed to help specialists at any stage of implementation:

• Tier 1 - No certified EHR previously adopted
• Tier 2 - Certified EHR previously adopted, but not implemented
• Tier 3 - Meaningful use gap analysis of previously adopted and implemented certified EHR

The center had not previously provided EHR services to specialists; but, that has changed now, said Carson Scott, MPA, director of outreach. The center exists to offer implementation support, meaningful use gap analysis and technical assistance to physicians and hospitals. It serves approximately 1,000 primary care providers and 40 hospitals. It is recognized as the EHR service organization for 108 counties in West Texas. For more information, call (806) 743-7960 or email info@wtxhitrec.org.

Health Information Technology outreach center recognizes Dr. Luna  [originally posted Sept. 26, 2011]

The West Texas Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (WTxHITREC) has recognized Jose Luna, M.D., chief clinical officer at Centro San Vicente Family Health Center, as a Physician Champion.  Luna’s recognition is for his leadership in the national transition toward electronic health records.  Under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, all Americans must have access to electronic health records (EHR) by 2014. Doctors not using EHR will lose a percentage of their Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement fees starting in 2015.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, established the WTxHITREC as a regional extension center to help health care providers in West Texas adopt and use EHR in their practices. The WTxHITREC will provide Centro San Vicente assistance in preparing the clinic in its drive toward meaningful use, help support connectivity though health information exchange and assist with EHR incentive attestation.  For more information on eligibility for e-records incentive payments and services provided by the WTxHITREC, call (806) 743-7960 or send email to info@wtxhitrec.org.

WTxHITREC             Release     

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As the winner of the Hottest Inventor Challenge, Armando will receive assistance on further development of his working prototype and commercialization of the invention.  Innovate El Paso values the prize at $5,500.  He will have access to an engineer, patent attorneys, prototyping equipment and materials.  An unveiling of the completed invention is expected Aug. 15. For more information, contact Erika Aragon, erika@innovateelpaso.org, (915) 255-7228.

The FM device is enclosed in a waterproof case that is strapped around the swimmer’s chest. It weighs less than a quarter of a pound. With audio signals coming from the camera and computer software, the communication system works to four feet. The tracking system works to a depth of two feet.

Once the equipment has been set up, it runs on its own. There doesn't need to be anyone on the computer end to send signals to the receiver (swimmer).

To improve the aid, students said they would like to develop it to function deeper underwater. They also would like to market the device to organizations, so that it can actually assist sight-impaired swimmers. The group would also like to include an additional tone to indicate to swimmers when they've reached the end of the lane. The current tool used is a tapper, a pole with soft ends. Additionally, the students hope to develop the aid to assist more than one swimmer at a time.

The current estimated cost is less than $2,000; but, the students want to lower that to about $700.


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TBI researchers who are collecting clinical phenotypic, genomic or imaging data are expected to share their data via FITBIR, and to use this national resource to advance their projects. This is expected of all investigators regardless of the size of the budget of their research projects, regardless of the source of support for their TBI research, including investigators supported by NIH grants awarded under focused funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) or those under parent mechanism FOAs ('unsolicited' applications). TBI researchers supported by non-federal sources are also encouraged to utilize the FITBIR Informatics System."

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-NS-12-016.html

Story  

Users also will be able to search for patent assets at all UT System institutions matched to a contact link to the appropriate UT System institution technology commercialization officer, and access web pages that feature published technologies at UT institutions. Additional capabilities, patents and technologies, and new features will be added to the portal over time. The portal also includes recent news about research and commercialization at UT System from the @UTInnovations twitter feed.

UT Research and Technology Search Engine     

UT Innovations Twitter feed    

     The LS-1 may be operated using either battery power or an external power source. It is intended to be used in hospitals, aircraft, ambulances, field hospitals, and extended care facilities.

     In 2011, Healthcare Design Magazine named the LS-1 among the Most Innovative Products of 2011. This year, the device industry's leading publication, Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry, has assembled a jury of industry leaders who selected the LS-1 – dubbed as the "suitcase ICU" – as a finalist for the 2012 Medical Design Excellence Award in the category of critical care and emergency medicine products.  As a result, the LS-1 will be featured in the April issue of the magazine, and LS-1 is a candidate for higher recognition at their annual design conference in May. 

     Integrated Medical Systems, Inc. is headquartered in Signal Hill, Calif.

Integrated Medical Systems     

2010 press release 

2010 editorial by IMS vice president  

“We’re in a unique position to have this high-end microscope,” said Ricardo Bernal, Ph.D, assistant professor of chemistry at UTEP and chief investigator for the NSF Major Research Instrumentation grant. “We anticipate having users from all over the country collaborating with us and visiting the facility.”

The state-of-the-art instrument comes as the University is establishing a structural biochemistry research core. This is part of a larger movement by UTEP to achieve Tier One status by expanding research capabilities on campus.

UTEP is investing not only in the instrument; but, in expert faculty such as Dr. Ricardo Bernal, said Stephen Aley, Ph.D., associate dean of the College of Science at UTEP.

Currently Bernal is pursing research on chaperonins – proteins found in the cytoplasm of cells which are responsible for refolding other proteins to make them functional again. Bernal’s research has focused on chaperonins as found in bacteria and viruses. The massive cryo-electron microscope will allow Bernal shift his research to human chaperonins that have been implicated in the survival of cancer cells.

“Cancer cells are not the healthiest cells. So as they continue to divide rapidly, they’re a mess,” Bernal said. “The chaperonin function is to help cancer cells survive by refolding their hastily synthesized proteins. Without a functional chaperonin, a cancer cell would die.”

Using the cryo-electron microscope, Bernal can create three-dimensional images of the chaperonin to aid in his research.  

The 300-kilovolt microscope – purchased through JEOL, a Japanese corporation – uses a concentrated electron beam to penetrate unstained biological samples in order to produce low-contrast two-dimensional images.

The microscope is unique in that its very bulky and expensive components create an extremely high vacuum. This vacuum allows for emission of electrons from what is called a field emission gun (FEG). The electron beam produced by an FEG is superior in that it is very intense and coherent, which in turn produces images of a higher quality.

“Having this sophisticated instrument at UTEP will not only stimulate underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in science, but it will provide UTEP students with the training that will make them highly competitive at an international level,” Bernal said.

Subsets to the commercialization institute will be the establishment of a Proof of Concept Fund and a Clinical Research Organization. The Proof of Concept Fund will be available to start-up biotech companies that meet a defined set of qualifications. Each grant can be as high as $50,000 per company with a potential second grant at least one year later. The Clinical Research Organization will help launch and scale-up operations of a local clinical trials network.  The MCA Foundation will manage the network through education, cataloging providers’ specialty areas and their patient demography and case mix, and linking providers with clinical trials on a large scale. 

The commercialization institute and the Proof of Concept Fund is projected to start in fiscal year 2013.  The CRO is projected to start in fiscal year 2012.

MCA website   

Dirk faculty profile page                

Other UTEP start-up companies:

• 3D Monolithix - Next generation electronic packaging
• Geomedia Research & Development - Non-Destructive Seismic Testing
• Mayan Pigments - Hybrid organic/inorganic pigments
• Refinery Science -Energy demand through nanotechnology
• SeneXta Therapeutics - R&D of therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, strokes and other degenerative diseases

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“It’s only been in the last few years that these endoscopes have come into wide spread use and we’re the first in El Paso to offer this procedure,” said Marc Zuckerman, MD, professor of internal medicine at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine and a gastroenterologist. 

Single balloon enteroscopy, also known as “deep enteroscopy,” uses the help of a single balloon endoscope to gain better access to the hard-to-reach small bowel, commonly referred to by gastroenterologists as the “final frontier” of endoscopy.

Prior to this procedure, doctors were enlisting wireless capsule endoscopy where a patient would ingest a capsule with a camera to gain access to the small intestine. While doctors could now see into the entire small intestine, this process is purely diagnostic as doctors only see the images after the fact. With single balloon enteroscopy, doctors can treat abnormalities they encounter on the spot.

“We have already gotten referrals and we expect to have more as word gets out that this procedure is now available at University Medical Center,” said Dr. Zuckerman who will be performing these procedures, along with Mohamed Othman MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at TTUHSC-El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.

Video:  Dr. Mohamed Othman conducts endoscopic ultrasound.

TAD website                  NIH release   

Release 

UTEP announcement 

WSJ

Any interested sponsors who believe their devices are appropriate candidates and would like to explore the use of the pilot program are encouraged to contact FDA via email at parallel-review@fda.gov.

See announcement 

Meanwhile,

On Oct. 5, the FDA released a report containing steps that can be taken to drive biomedical innovation, while improving the health of Americans. The report "addresses concerns about the medical product development pipeline, and kicks off a new FDA-wide Innovation Initiative, which promises to redouble the agency’s efforts to encourage innovations that will promote public health as well as strengthen the American economy."

See report  

Over the course of the 2011-12 academic year, each of the program participants will explore the capacity of the iPad 2 to facilitate their advising, teaching, research or community engagement.  Faculty and staff will use the capacity of the iPad 2 to collect and store field data, to create mobile data collection tools, to hold mobile reference libraries and maps, and to enhance communications and dissemination of their work worldwide.

Pictured:  Standing before an algal photobioreactor, Pete Lammers (left), NMSU research professor and the technical director of the university’s Algal Bioenergy Program, speaks to U.S. Sen. Tom Udall and NMSU President Barbara Couture.

Release 

Read more about NMSU's Algal Bioenergy Program 

EurekAlert! 

Jeni Clark, BSME, the associate director of UTEP’s CREIE (Center for Research, Entrepreneurship and Innovative Enterprises), said these survey findings are timely, as the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) is weighing regulatory revisions that support innovation; bring important, safe, and effective technologies to patients quickly; and keep jobs in the United States. The agency has also commissioned the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to produce an independent review panel report, which is expected to be released this summer.

Article   

Pictured is Delia Valles-Rosales, an NMSU associate professor of industrial engineering. She is showing samples of wood-plastic composites developed by her research team. The research team is studying the possibility of using chile plants as a wood substitute in wood-plastic composites.

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FASEB Website       

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Opinion

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UTEP and The Hub plan to use technologies from regional agencies including Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico, Fort Bliss, the City of El Paso and some factories in Juárez, Mexico, as initial test beds.

Information: Gary Williams, (915) 747-5419

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Alternative Industry Resources, or Air, of Albuquerque, is the project's developer, and will sell solar power to the prisons. Oswaldo Galarza, president of Air, said the company hopes to get solar projects at other prisons.

El Paso Times                      Border Solar

1.      a waste-to-energy plant that would burn waste as fuel to produce between 80 and 100 megawatts of power

2.      a joint venture with El Paso Electric to build a solar thermal pond that would produce an additional 40 megawatts of energy; any excess energy would be sold back to El Paso Electric

3.      large-scale solar and wind plants for the production of about 50 megawatts each

4.      Space on McGregor Range is being studied as a location for a geo thermal plant capable of putting out a constant 40 mega watts of power.

Simply stated, one megawatt is enough electricity to power 1,000 homes for one instant. The waste-to-energy plant is the most ambitious and could cost in around $600 million. B.J. Tomlinson is the manager for the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Project at Fort Bliss.

Article                     

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The new brigade will test the Army’s next-generation communications network that would give soldiers access to critical data. The unit also will test vehicles and robots. New products will be evaluated for its value and application. Troops at Fort Bliss already have begun testing smart phones in combat scenarios.

National Defense Magazine      

U.S. Government website

Austin American-Statesman              

El Paso Inc.

MDL Enterprises

El Paso Inc.  

Program Overview

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“TMAC could receive up to $2.7 million during the next three years through the program,” said TMAC Director Drew Casani. Subsequent funding is based on performance and availability of funds.

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Forum

Magazine

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