UNeMed has chosen the winner of its most recent “Back-o-the-Napkin Contest,” selecting a novel surgical device to receive the top prize of further development, guidance and prototyping.
Selected from a total of 14 entries, the winning idea was a device from inventor Aleem Siddique, MBBS, professor in the UNMC Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. His idea shows promise for improving aortic surgery outcomes.
All entries for the contest were evaluated for their novelty and commercial potential. Although they weren’t selected for the prize, several other submissions are expected to move forward with additional testing or research.
The winning invention was titled “Retrograde cerebral protection (RCP) central catheter,” which proposes a new device design and method for performing RCP in the event the patient’s superior vena cava is inaccessible.
“I can’t overstate the value of retrograde cerebral protection,” Dr. Siddique said. “It’s like a safety net for the brain, ensuring we keep oxygenated blood flowing where it’s needed most.”
The contest received entries from inventive faculty across 11 departments and two campuses. UNMC fielded entries from the UNMC Colleges of Medicine, Allied Health and Pharmacy. The University of Nebraska at Omaha was represented by the colleges of education, health and human sciences and information science and technology.
“A heartfelt thank you to all the brilliant minds who poured their passion into this invention contest,” UNeMed licensing specialist and contest director Tyler Scherr, PhD, said. “Their creativity is the heartbeat of progress.”
On average, UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, will process about 100 new inventions every year from faculty, staff and students. The nature of inventions vary widely, ranging from software solutions and novel therapies to research tools and medical devices.
Contest entries were judged on the following criteria: patentability, feasibility and market size.
UNeMed and the Great Plains IDeA-CTR co-sponsored the contest, in collaboration with the James and Karen Linder Maker Studio at UNMC’s McGoogan Library, the UNO Machining and Prototyping Core in the UNO Department of Biomechanics and the UNeTech Institute.