CINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati (UC) has received $1 million to establish a research center that will allow competing biomedical companies to pool their funding to develop new medical technologies for minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Known as the Minimally Invasive Medical Technologies Center (MIMTeC), the collaboration will focus on translational research that enables U.S. companies to bring the next generation of minimally invasive medical technologies to market.

The centers initial funding comes from a five-year grant from the National Science Foundations (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program and membership fees from a consortium of national biomedical device companies.

Biomedical device companies will commit to at least a three-year, renewable membership in MIMTeC, which entitles them to propose, review and vote on research projects that may benefit the entire group. Device manufacturers are also eligible for affiliate membership in the center, which will allow them to stay up to speed on the emerging technologies they will need to produce future devices.

"By collaborating with academia to conduct unbiased research," explains center director Balakrishna Haridas, PhD, "industry stakeholders can share the cost of developing new design methodologies and experimental research tools applicable to each companys product development pipeline. MIMTeC is a national resource in that, when the research is complete, all industry partners will have access to the technologies."

Haridas, associate professor of biomedical engineering, spent more than 10 years designing biomedical devices for companies like Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Ethicon Endo-Surgery prior to joining UC.

The center is the result of two years of collaboration between UCs biomedical engineering department and the Center for Surgical Innovation, whose executive director, Chuck Doarn, will serve as adm
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Contact: Amanda Harper
amanda.harper@uc.edu
513-558-4657
University of Cincinnati
25-May-2007