{"id":143828,"date":"2024-11-05T12:31:59","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T17:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=143828"},"modified":"2024-11-06T09:17:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T14:17:23","slug":"uniting-medicine-engineering-for-improved-patient-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/uniting-medicine-engineering-for-improved-patient-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Uniting Medicine, Engineering for Improved Patient Care"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research partnerships between medicine and engineering will impact the future of healthcare by creating new technologies for diagnosing and caring for patients, says Bruce Tromberg, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n

As the leader of a national research team focused on developing technologies for biomedical imaging and therapy to improve health, Tromberg spoke Nov. 1 at the College of Medicine\u2019s fourth annual John C. and Martha Hitt Grand Rounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrand Rounds are a tradition in medical schools, a time when we come together, to teach and to learn from one another, with the goal of increasing excellence in patient care,\u201d says Deborah German, vice president for health affairs and medical school dean. \u201cDr. Tromberg\u2019s message is that we can do far more together than we can ever do separately.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NIH includes 27 institutes and centers focused on specific health conditions. And the NIBIB works with each institute to create new technologies to better treat and diagnose those diseases, Tromberg says.<\/p>\n

He cited the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. As the U.S. and world struggled with a new, deadly virus with no vaccine yet, healthcare leaders knew they needed a large-scale testing mechanism. But would patients accept in-home testing? Would they be able to accurately conduct such a test? Timing was critical, so the agency held a national \u201cShark Tank\u201d for at-home testing proposals. They received about 1,000 concepts, then worked with scientists, healthcare providers, vendors and government regulators to bring the test kits to market. That medicine-engineering partnership led to the manufacture of 7.8 billion at-home kits that allow patients and their families to know within minutes if they have COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic brought a new wave of engineering and medical partnerships,\u201d he says, adding, \u201cThis was a paradigm shift. People now expect to be able to do testing at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

He highlighted new research into at-home devices that could improve health, including:<\/p>\n