HIMSS 2019: Solutions combine cutting-edge technology with government policy

Posted on by Jim Jordan

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a truly transformative event. The Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society, or HIMSS, held their global Health IT conference, where more than 45,000 healthcare professionals attended. Tech leaders and industry executives networked with government policy makers, healthcare providers, and payors to discuss the future of healthcare. As expected, the results were …

Artificial Intelligence (AI) coming to Ambulances

Posted on by Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the power to improve healthcare delivery across the continuum of care. AI can more quickly identify hemorrhages on CT scan in the emergency department; it can make surgeries safer in the operating room, reduce mortality in intensive care units; and it can help patients recover faster after being discharged.   Artificial Intelligence could also assist emergency medical service (EMS) providers in treatment and triage …

Using Public Disclosures to Prevent Competitive Patents

Posted on by Alan West

When does disclosing a secret actually help the secret-keeper?  In the world of patents and patent protection, it can be a key strategy. Most entrepreneurs understand that an invention must be truly novel to receive a patent.  According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (uspto.gov), an invention cannot be one that has been previously “patented, described in a printed …

PLSG Participates in Mentoring International Young Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Marissa Kuzirian

As a mentor to young professionals, hosting transatlantic partnerships represents a special honor. Transatlantic mentoring programs strengthen entrepreneurship in the U.S. and abroad. The Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) connects European and Eurasian young entrepreneurs with U.S. mentors in cities across the country and is sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. and the U.S. Department of …

 PLSG Recognizes Advisory Board Member’s Selection to “30 Under 30” Class

Posted on by Delvina Morrow

 PLSG Recognizes Advisory Board Member’s Selection to “30 Under 30” Class Carmelo Montalvo Serves on PLSG’s Under 40, Underserved Advisory Board PITTSBURGH (July 31, 2018)—Carmelo Montalvo, a member of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) Under 40, Underserved Advisory Board, was recently named by the Pittsburgh Business Times to its 2018 “30 Under 30” Class of civic and business leaders. …

Can you really create a “community?”

Posted on by Delvina Morrow

The United Nations defines community development as “a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems.” Each of us, as individuals, plays a critical role in community development. It is up to each of us to help our communities to thrive and grow for the betterment of all members; to ensure that our region not …

SBIR Road Tour Comes to Town

Posted on by Jim Osborn

Back in March I blogged about — and sang the praises of — the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and its companion STTR program. Together, those Federal programs provide nearly $2.5B of non-dilutive grant funding annually to technology start-ups and other small businesses. As I pointed out, there’s a regional “SBIR deficit,” meaning that while Pittsburgh’s universities are doing …

Challenges and Opportunities in Treating Cognitive Disorders

Posted on by Hank Safferstein

By Hank Safferstein, Ph.D., J.D. PLSG Executive In Residence Cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s dementia, are devastating and will put an increasing strain on our healthcare system as the population ages. As of February 2016, there were approximately 174 drugs in clinical development, with only 5 marketed therapeutics. This disparity, in large part, is due to difficulties demonstrating efficacy in …

From Analytics to Action – Part II

Posted on by Alicia Varughese

In Part I of this two-part series, we noted that the rise of data analytics in the business of health care represents important changes in roles and responsibilities.  This includes the fact that more physicians and clinicians – because of their prior experience in analyzing data – are finding themselves moving up to the executive suites of their organizations. The …

From Analytics to Action – Part I

Posted on by Alicia Varughese

As healthcare organizations shift to a value-based care approach, more clinicians, physicians, and nurses can expect to be armed with easy-to-use, self-service analytics. The common denominator promises to be enormous amounts of data. But simply gathering data makes up only half of the equation. The other half requires careful analytics, performing quality evaluation and interpretation of that data, to drive …