ASU HEALab Health Innovation Exhibition

Dec 9

The annual Health Innovation Exhibition, hosted by the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University, occurred on November 22, 2024. The event united 760 freshmen students from ASU Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation to participate in a dynamic competition aimed at fostering innovative solutions in the realm of Patient Safety. Students came from varying academic backgrounds, including Community Health, Nursing, Integrative Health, Health Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Health Care Coordination, and Health Care Compliance and Regulation.

Each of the teams spent 8 weeks developing and refining an innovative solution born out of collaborative problem solving surrounding one of the five patient safety categories: Medication Error, Patient Care, Procedural/Surgical Safety, Infections, and Diagnostic Errors. At the culmination of their efforts, teams pitched their ideas showcasing their deep dive into their chosen patient safety realm. Expert judges evaluated each presentation and awarded the top team from each patient safety category a cash prize of $1,000, sponsored by the Patient Safety Technology Challenge (PSTC). The following teams won the prize for each category: Medication Error – PillPal, Patient Care – TransLume, Procedural/Surgical Safety – ThermoGuard, Infections – Meducate VR, and Diagnostic Errors – Foreign Buddy.

The finalists then advanced to a final round of judging, in which the judges recognized one team by awarding them the overall Grand Prize, a cash prize of $1,000. In addition to winning the prize in the Infections category, Meducate VR also won the PSTC-sponsored Grand Prize. Several of this year’s Patient Safety Technology Challenge winners not only considered ways of solving various issues related to medical error and patient safety, but they also centered health equity in their solutions. More specifically, multiple teams incorporated multilingual capabilities into their innovations with the goal of improving health outcomes for individuals with limited English proficiency by reducing misdiagnoses, late diagnoses, fear and anxiety about a lack of clarity surrounding healthcare options, poor health outcomes, and other consequences of language barriers in the doctor-patient relationship.

PillPal is a machine that dispenses medication directly to patients. It is a self-guided machine on wheels that uses a designated time a user enters into the PillPal app to dispense medication at the appropriate time. The machine returns to its charger after it has finished dispensing medication to a user. PillPal has a user-friendly interface, and it helps users keep track of their medication management with reminders. Nylah Burton, a PillPal team member, said the team encountered challenges upon discovering that another team developed a similar concept, however they used this as an opportunity to focus on highlighting their personal connection. Burton pointed out, “The PillPal was inspired by a personal challenge I had experienced in my own life. By incorporating this personal story into our pitch, we were able to set ourselves apart.” Ultimately, the team hopes their innovation will increase medication adherence and increase accessibility for individuals with mobility impairments.

Team TransLume developed AI-based translation glasses, which can accurately translate in real-time with the ability to recognize and translate sign language. Team member Eden Marrufo Salazar said her father’s experience led to her interest in patient safety and medical errors. Her father misunderstood information that his healthcare team communicated to him, which resulted in confusion and anxiety about his procedure. Recalling the experience, she said, “it was 40 minutes later when the next available phone translator could help him and ensure everything was fine.” The TransLume team understood that there are not enough medical interpreters and translators in the United States to meet the needs of over 25 million people across the country who have limited English proficiency. This tech-enabled solution aims to bridge the communication gap in healthcare settings, further enabling patients and their families to understand their healthcare options and results, engage in informed decision-making, and reducing anxiety related to misunderstanding healthcare professionals.

Team ThermoGuard came up with a temperature monitoring patch for postoperative sepsis prevention. The team described potential next steps, including prototype development, testing materials for the patch and sensor, and software development for real-time monitoring. Additionally, they would conduct testing and data collection on the patch performance, along with gathering user feedback from healthcare professionals and patients. Team members also highlighted consultation with biomedical engineers and healthcare professionals as a key element in the development process.

Foreign Buddy is an AI-tool designed to improve interactions between clinicians and patients by addressing the needs of patients with limited English proficiency, as well as patients who struggle to articulate their symptoms. It also provides healthcare professionals with a summary of an interaction with a patient. Monica Bracamontes from Foreign Buddy said, “Our team's main approach was inspired by our shared personal experiences. Each of us has a family member (more specifically a grandparent) who primarily speaks Spanish more than English, and we have seen firsthand the challenges they have faced during medical appointments. We noted that the biggest struggle for them is articulating their symptoms accurately.” These personal experiences motivated the team to create a solution that addresses language barriers in healthcare, reducing misdiagnoses. Bracamontes said, “We believe we can enhance patient understanding, reduce medical errors, and encourage trust between a patient and doctor. Patient safety truly starts with making healthcare more accessible and inclusive so that everyone-regardless of language-receives the best care.” Her teammate, Kelly Acevedo Pedemonte, shared a similar sentiment, saying, “We failed to find a system that really considers this audience. This type of audience usually has a harder time communicating with health services and are typically misunderstood. They deserve to be considered more in healthcare services.”

Meducate VR is a step-by-step VR program that guides patients through proper wound care at home. The team aims to increase adherence to care protocols and reduce infections and hospital re-admissions with the development of their innovation. Meducate VR also increases accessibility, as it is a multilingual platform that is affordable and easy to use. It provides patients with personalized instructions for wound care, and even offers patients an opportunity to track their wound healing progress through photos and documenting changes in wound appearance, along with suggesting appropriate responses. Camila Zuniga Hernandez, a Meducate VR team member, said the team was unsure what they wanted to focus on at first, however she wanted it to involve multilingual capabilities and her teammate, Nicholas Woodard, shared his personal story to inspire their project. She said the team used her idea to incorporate a multilingual component and they “ended up with a VR system idea, inspired by our teammate Nicholas because of his own personal injuries.”

Overall, the 2024 Health Innovation Exhibition at ASU was an overwhelming success, with students using their personal and family experiences as inspiration for their tech-enabled patient safety solutions. Erika Griffin, Program Manager at the Health Entrepreneurship Accelerator Lab (HEALab), described working with the Patient Safety Technology Challenge as “an incredible experience that brought invaluable support to our healthcare innovation pitch event. The expert-provided materials and access to “The Pitch” documentary empowered our students to deeply understand and address critical issues in patient safety. This collaboration not only elevated the quality of our program but also inspired our participants to develop impactful, technology-driven solutions."

Hadar Re'em

ASU HEALab Health Innovation Exhibition

Skunkworks