Innovation Takes Center Stage at the Frankel Cardiovascular Center Innovation Celebration

The Frankel Cardiovascular Center (CVC) and Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI) recently hosted the Frankel CVC Innovation Celebration on Thursday, May 8, in the Danto Auditorium. Part of the Frankel CVC Innovation Program, the Frankel CVC Innovation Celebration is a day of events highlighting groundbreaking ideas in cardiovascular care.

The day kicked off with the 7^th annual Aikens Innovation Academy Pitch Showcase, featuring presentations from the current academy participants as they pitched for development funding and additional support from the Frankel CVC Innovation Team. The Aikens Innovation Academy is an education and mentorship program customized for Frankel CVC faculty, staff, and trainees. After their pitch, the participants received feedback on their projects from the day’s panel of expert judges, Arash Babaoff, MD, True Concepts Medical Technologies; Umesh N. Khot, MD, Cleveland Clinic; Jacqueline Shreibati, MD, Google; and Mark Summers, Dosentrx. This year’s Aikens cohort included:

• Sardar Ansari, PhD, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine
• Kelly Arps, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Electrophysiology
• Juan Caceres, MD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine
• Carlos Alberto Campello Jorge, MD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Radiology, Cardiothoracic Imaging
• Shiran Kannangara, RN, BSN, CCRN, Registered Nurse, CVICU-5
• Moses Nelapudi, BS, Patient Care Technician, 10W

Following the Aikens Innovation Academy Pitch Showcase, the event featured Grand Rounds with Dr. Jacqueline Shreibati, and a poster and networking session.

The 9^th annual Frankel CVC Innovation Challenge took place in the afternoon. This exciting pitch competition gave multidisciplinary teams the opportunity to win funding for their cardiovascular care innovations. For the first time, awards were given in three categories. The winners were: 

Commercial Product/Service Winner: Remora Aortic Septal Fenestration Device

• Jeff Plott, PhD, Assistant Research Scientist, Cardiac Surgery
• Shinichi Fukuhara, MD, G. Michael Deeb MD, and Nancy Deeb Research Professor of Cardiac Surgery, Clinical Associate Professor of Cardiac Surgery, Surgical Director of Structural Heart Disease, Frankel Cardiovascular Center, and Program Director, Integrated Thoracic Surgery Residency & Thoracic Surgery Fellowship Program
• Gardner Yost, MD, MS, Integrated Thoracic Surgery Resident, Cardiac Surgery

Systems-based/Process Improvement Winner: Enhancing Early Detection and Prevention of Pressure Injuries Using WoundVision Scout in the CVC

• Brittany Cooper, MSN, CRNP, AGACNP-BC, AOCNP, Nurse Practitioner
• Elissa Persaud, MSN, APRN, ACCNS-AG, CCRN-CSC, Clinical Nurse Specialist
• Shannon Brunt, DNP, APRN, AACNS-AG, CCRN, CWCN, TCRN, CBRN, Clinical Nurse Specialist

Artificial Intelligence Winner: Streamlining Prior Authorizations with Artificial Intelligence

• Karl Renius, PharmD, MADS, Assistant Director, Pharmacy Data Solutions
• Chris Mannina, PharmD, BS, Clinical Pharmacist Specialist, Pharmacy Data Solutions
• Paul Schenk, MSN, RN, Nursing Services Senior Director
• Matt Konerman, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor

In addition, “Just Do It” awards were selected for low-cost, low complexity ideas. The winners were:

• Heart to Heart: Collecting Diverse Patient Stories that Showcase the Positive Impact of Cardiac Rehabilitation - submitted by Thomas Cascino, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
• Sing Your Heart Strong Pilot Program - submitted by Melissa Cousino, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Cardiac Surgery
• Going Beyond the Standard of Care for Prevention of Retained Surgical Items (RSI) - submitted by Jessica Crawford, Project Manager, Clinical Quality/PSQIP
• Safe Sleep with Sleep Sacks - submitted by Michelle Dwyer, PNP-AC, Nurse Practitioner, Cardiovascular Surgery
• S.U.S.P.E.C.T. Cardiogenic Shock - submitted by Scott Ketcham, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
• Mixing It Up to Improve Patient Safety for Little Victors with Congenital Heart Disease - submitted by Alissa Scheffer, NP, Lead Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
• On-Time and Accurate - Improving Bedside Evaluation of Heart Failure Patients via Handheld Ultrasound; submitted by Peter Wilcox, MD, Chief Medical Resident, Internal Medicine

The Frankel CVC Innovation Program is a unique resource to promote, develop, and take new cardiovascular care ideas and projects to the next level. The Frankel CVC and FFMI would like to acknowledge and thank the Aikens family and the Stolzenfeld family for their continuing support and patronage. Their generosity enables the Frankel CVC Innovation Program to continue growing and introducing the future of cardiovascular innovation to the University of Michigan community and beyond.

Questions about the Frankel CVC Innovation Program? Visit the website to learn more.