MANHASSET, N.Y., May 13, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New York's largest integrated health network, the North Shore-LIJ Health System and i360medical Ltd., an Irish medical device innovation company, today announced an international agreement to benefit patients through a collaboration aimed at commercializing new healthcare solutions and medical device innovations. Based in Dublin, i360medical has expertise in developing medical devices and bringing them to the global market. Representatives from i360medical will be based at North Shore LIJ's Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, headquartered in Manhasset, NY. Together with i360medical personnel in Ireland and consultants around the globe, i360medical will bridge North Shore-LIJ's ideas and technologies with engineering, development, industry and commercialization specialists.
"Working with a global leader like i360medical provides North Shore-LIJ with an opportunity to leverage the research strengths of our Feinstein Institute and the clinical capabilities of the entire North Shore-LIJ Health System" said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of North Shore-LIJ, which has 17 hospitals and more than 400 outpatient physician practices across the New York metropolitan area. "With i360 as a partner, we hope to promote and enhance innovative medical devices and other technologies we are developing, and propel them into commercial products that will expedite clinical breakthroughs, improve patient care and create jobs."
i360medical will provide scientists at the Feinstein Institute and clinicians elsewhere across the North Shore-LIJ Health System with support services that stimulate the advancement of medical devices and prioritize technologies for further commercial development. i360medical engineering staff will then assist in moving promising ideas to market, including prototype design and development, project management, clinical trials and regulatory approval for the devices. Activities will begin immediately, with the goal of transitioning five devices into clinical, technical and market assessments by 2015. Current North Shore-LIJ Health System technologies under review by i360medical include a smart catheter for traumatic brain injury, a solid-state blood-flow sensor, a neural tourniquet device to dampen injury/disease-induced blood loss and a tendon fixation device.
Commenting on the new partnership, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Enda Kenny said: "I am delighted that i360medical and North Shore-LIJ have concluded this exciting agreement and it will help to build on Ireland's already strong base in the medical devices industry. There is great potential from this agreement for the generation of further start-ups, greater investment and new jobs. North Shore-LIJ's decision to partner with i360medical is an endorsement for the environment that has been created to support the medical device sector and I am confident that this partnership will prove to be extremely successful. I congratulate both companies on their achievement and wish them continued success for the future."
While the Feinstein Institute and the health system have commercialized multiple healthcare technologies through licensing and start-up ventures, these innovations have typically focused on molecular diagnostics and therapeutics. North Shore-LIJ established a formal Healthcare Innovation Alliance with Cleveland Clinic Innovations in 2012 to engage the health system around innovation. i360medical is also a member of the Healthcare Innovation Alliance, and this expanded collaboration will complement existing efforts with an increased emphasis on medical devices. Since devices and hardware utilize a streamlined regulatory approval process, their clinical benefits can reach patients in need much more rapidly, both within the North Shore-LIJ service area and around the world.
`Referring to the new partnership, i360medical CEO Derek Young said, "We are proud to be working with North Shore-LIJ, one of the most innovative academic medical centers in the world, to move cutting-edge device technologies from concepts to care. This is an extremely important partnership for both our company and for Ireland."
About North Shore-LIJ Health System
One of the nation's largest health systems, North Shore-LIJ delivers world-class clinical care throughout the New York metropolitan area. Innovative Health System programs include pioneering research at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, a visionary approach to medical education highlighted by the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, and healthcare coverage to individuals, families and businesses through the North Shore-LIJ CareConnect Insurance Co. Inc. North Shore-LIJ cares for people at every stage of life at 17 hospitals and more than 400 outpatient physician practices throughout the region. North Shore-LIJ's owned hospitals and long-term care facilities house more than 6,000 beds, employ more than 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with over 9,400 physicians. With a workforce of about 48,000, North Shore-LIJ is the largest private employer in New York State. For more information, go to www.northshorelij.com.
About The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Headquartered in Manhasset, NY, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research www.feinsteininstitute.org is home to international scientific leaders in many areas including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sepsis, human genetics, pulmonary hypertension, leukemia, neuroimmunology, and medicinal chemistry. The Feinstein Institute, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, ranks in the top 6th percentile of all National Institutes of Health grants awarded to research centers. For more information, visit www.FeinsteinInstitute.org.
About i360medical
i360medical is an Irish headquartered medical devices innovation company that drives collaboration across clinicians, multinational companies, SMEs, and universities. With a strong market commercialisation focus i360medical is a dynamic conduit for new concept ideas and verified unmet surgical and clinical needs. The company offers medical device companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs the opportunity to have specialist clinicians and medical device engineers collaboratively validate their devices and assist them with their clinical investigation and commercialisation needs across six development stages/phases. It has established itself as a preferred 'one stop' supplier of outsourced Ideation and R &D for a number of global and national medical technology companies. As part of our Innovation Agreements, i360medical offer a full range of activities to partners associated with healthcare technology commercialization including ideation, IP creation and management, design and prototype development, through to clinical studies and market introduction. Clients engage with us because of our practical experience, our independence, our access to the European and emerging markets through our exceptional international clinical and commercial network and our ability to accelerate healthcare technology commercialization.
For more information, go to www.i360medical.com.
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