Last month the Cleveland Clinic held their annual Medical Innovation Summit. One of the big themes this year at the summit was innovations from healthcare outsiders, something that we have focused on quite a bit since naming it a trend a little over a year ago. From companies who make paint to companies that bring television into your home, everybody is finding ways to impact the world of medicine. Here are just a few:
Sherwin-Williams
The paint maker from Cleveland officially announced Paint Shield. and EPA-registered Microbicidal Paint that touts the killing of 99.9 percent of bacterial on wall surfaces. This paint claims to kill bacteria for up to four years and aimed for use in hospitals, senior care centers, schools, and sports facilities.
NASA
There has been specific interest from these space explorers to treat bone-density loss and intracranial pressure that can impact vision, as well as, taking a look at how to generate IV fluid in space. This is incredibly important to them since a large issue they are currently facing is that “We’re on a three-year mission to MARS and there’s a six-month shelf-life for saline,”Sankovic, director of technology incubation and innovation, said. That answer could lead to advancement in emergency medicine or rural healthcare.
Parker Hannafin
Parker has interest in orthopedics and already has an exoskeleton on the market that helps those with spinal cord injuries walk. At the summit they announced their new partnership with the Department of Defense and has also invested in an orthopedics design company. Parker’s vice president of technology and innovation states that the company benefits through the constant interviews with patients that help improve their products.
Cox Communications
Cox’s mantra is to put technology in people’s homes that will capture data and make sense out of it. The sectors of telemedicine and home healthcare should be a focus for them in the next few years. They just partnered with the Cleveland Clinic to form Vivre Health and is investing in other telehealth companies like HealthSpot.
About the Author:
As Managing Director of Innovation and Insights for Syneos Health Communications, Leigh is responsible for building and scaling a global team of healthcare experts who together help life science leaders better understand the complex lives, influences and expectations of their customers. Specifically, they uncover actionable insights that fuel empathy and creativity; lead co-creation events that let marketers learn from peers, trends, and new possibilities; and help clients identify the most valuable and useful new customer experiences to create.
Leigh has worked with Fortune 1000 companies to craft their digital, mobile, social and CRM strategies for nearly 20 years.She’s worked for category-leading agencies in retail, public affairs, B2B technology, and higher education. Prior to moving to Syneos Health Communications, she held several leadership roles at our largest agency, GSW. There, she founded an innovation practice fueled by the zeitgeist and spearheaded digital and innovation thinking across the business.
Leigh has taken a special interest in complex healthcare products that can change lives in meaningful ways. She was recently a strategic lead on the 3rd largest launch in pharmaceutical history: Tecfidera. Before that she had keys roles with Eli Lilly Oncology, Abbott Nutrition, Amgen Cardiovascular, and Eli Lilly Diabetes.
A critical part of Leigh’s work is trends and new ideas. Every year, she convenes a group of trend watchers from across our global network to identify the shifts most critical to healthcare marketers. This year, she led over 250 experts to experts to focus on the most important changes in the commercial, consumer, marketing, digital and healthcare landscapes. (See reports at trends.health)
Leigh is a sought-after writer and speaker. Recognized as one of the most inspiring people in the pharmaceutical industry by PharmaVoice and Top 10 Innovation Catalysts of 2017 by MM&M, Leigh also was recognized as a Rising Star by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) for her overt passion, industry thought leadership and significant contributions in new business, strategy and mentoring.
