CTSA-supported Biodesign Innovation Fellows complete training at Stanford

Two Spectrum CTSA-supported fellows, Nicholas Prindeze, MD and Sojung Yi, MD, recently graduated from the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign’s 10-month Innovation Fellowship program. The paid program teaches fellows how to adopt a disciplined approach to health technology innovation – from needs identification to business planning – through the application of the biodesign innovation process. The fellowship began with a four-week clinical immersion in emergency medicine to observe and catalog unmet health-related needs for further assessment. This served as the springboard for the remaining months, during which they progressively homed in on a potential solution for one of the needs identified, culminating in a final presentation to a panel of expert clinicians and innovators. Each fellow also completed a 5-week externship as part of the program.

“The Biodesign fellowship was one of the most influential years in my career thus far. The educational, practical, and networking experience I gained as a fellow will continue to impact my career for years to come. I could not recommend the fellowship more highly to physician-engineers like myself, or any other person interested in the design and development of medical technologies.”
                         - Nicholas Prindeze, MD

The most promising need identified by Dr. Prindeze’s team was a way to decrease proximal catheter obstruction in children with hydrocephalus with a CSF shunt in order to reduce 1-year revision rates. The team designed a new catheter with a proprietary anti-cellular coating that aims to reduce cell adhesion and improve flow dynamics. For his externship, Dr. Prindeze worked on product development at Sequel, a Stanford start-up company based in San Francisco, and he continues to partner with Sequel on developing a blood diagnostic product.

Dr. Prindeze has returned full-time to his general surgery residency at Georgetown University and is looking forward to taking part in a minimally invasive surgery fellowship when he concludes his residency.

Dr. Yi’s Innovation Fellowship team identified more than 100 health-related unmet needs during clinical immersion. After refining, rescoping, and screening the needs, the team carried out deep research on their top eight unmet needs, moved three to the concept generation phase of the Biodesign process, and ultimately focused on a way to increase pelvic floor elasticity in first-time mothers delivering vaginally in order to reduce the incidence of severe perineal tears. This was after taking into consideration the huge patient impact, the cost to the system, and the lack of efficacious solutions. They developed two solutions to this need – a biotech solution based on the naturally occurring hormonal mechanisms to prepare for vaginal delivery, and a medical device to apply heat and increase the elasticity of the perineal tissue. The team developed prototypes, testing plans, and implementation plans for both approaches. They subsequently validated their implementation plan with physicians, nurses, and potential investors, as well as IP, regulatory, and reimbursement consultants.

Dr. Yi is now practicing emergency medicine in the San Francisco Bay Area and building up her clinical practice as she explores the health tech field. She hopes to continue connecting with colleagues who are similarly dedicated to using technology to augment patient care, and she is especially interested in opportunities to innovate for historically underserved populations.

Additional information about the Biodesign Innovation Fellowships is available here:

https://biodesign.stanford.edu/programs/fellowships/innovation-fellowships.html