FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2020  |  CONTACT: Brian Cooper  |  EMAIL: brian@dhitglobal.org

“We are pleased that our partners have volunteered time, resources, and funding to mentoring our participants and helping them to further develop their ideas,” says Michael Levy, President of DHIT. “COVID-19 has been devastating to communities across the world, but I am inspired by the energy and partnerships that have formed to address it.”

[Chapel Hill, NC, June 17, 2020] Last month, two Research Triangle-based organizations—the ASSIST Center (Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies) based at North Carolina State University and DHIT (the Digital Health Institute for Transformation) launched a virtual crowdsourced incubator, COVID-19 Unites Us All, to serve as an innovation engine for advanced remote care by sourcing ideas from the ecosystem and nurturing them from inception to implementation.

Today, DHIT, ASSIST, and their partners are announcing awards that will be given to outstanding proposals submitted through its Virtual Incubator. There are a variety of awards, including: cash prize(s), consulting services, prototyping and testing services, entry into an accelerator program, and mentorship. Several examples include:

  • A Program Champion Award of $5,000 to be given to an exceptional proposal.
  • ASSIST is pleased to present the ASSIST Innovation Award, which will be awarded to a wearable device that is ready for testing in ASSIST’s human performance lab.
  • Charlotte Area Health Education Center (AHEC)is pleased to present the Charlotte AHEC Innovation Award, which will be awarded to a proposal with the potential for great impact in clinical settings. The recipient team will receive mentorship assistance from Charlotte AHEC to evaluate their concept and refine its clinical relevance to maximize impact.
  • Cone Health believes innovation lies at the heart of the future of health and that is why Cone Health Ventures was started. In order to meet the health needs of future generations, all of us must work together to address the most pressing needs of our community, not least of which are Social Determinants of Health.  For this, the selected idea will receive support in advancing the idea by providing access to subject matter experts, business strategy consulting, product validation and potential funding.
  • DeviceSolutions is pleased to present the Device Solutions Innovation Award, which will be awarded to an exceptional proposal that provides a new application to an existing device, or a promising idea for development of a new device. The recipient team will receive 25 hours of consulting services at no charge.
  • RIoTis pleased to present the RIoT Innovation Award, which will be awarded to an exceptional proposal that is ready for immediate development following the DHIT-ASSIST program.

“We are pleased that our partners have volunteered time, resources, and funding to mentoring our participants and helping them to further develop their ideas,” says Michael Levy, President of DHIT. “COVID-19 has been devastating to communities across the world, but I am inspired by the energy and partnerships that have formed to address it.”

The program launched on the Crowdicity platform on May 29th to a worldwide audience. In response to Challenges, participants can submit their ideas and view the ideas of others to upvote and comment on them. Click here to access the Crowdicity page for this program. Current challenges include:

  • Protection at Work :: What solutions can help ensure that consumers, business owners, and employees are in safe working conditions and business environments, supporting a return to normal business operations?
  • Personal Monitoring :: What remote monitoring technologies can identify infected individuals before the presentation of observable symptoms and/or support at-home monitoring of individuals with mild-to-moderate symptoms before worsening to require hospital care?
  • A special challenge issued by Pfizer :: What remote monitoring technologies and patient-reported outcome (PRO) applications can interface with electronic healthcare record systems and provide timely data to providers in an actionable format/easy to interpret dashboard?

 For organizations interested in partnering, please contact info@dhitglobal.org.

ABOUT DHIT

The Digital Health Institute for Transformation (DHIT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit education and research institute supporting communities through the process of digital health transformation. We collaborate with leading academic institutions, associations, and industry to cultivate talent and ecosystems with our immersive learning platform, harnessing real-world experiences that drive the adoption of next generation skills, emerging technologies, and mindsets needed to foster the digital health leaders and innovators of the future, today. For more information, visit dhitglobal.org.

ABOUT THE ASSIST CENTER

The Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST) at North Carolina State University develops leading-edge systems for high-value applications such as healthcare and IoT by integrating fundamental advances in energy harvesting, low-power electronics, and sensors with a focus on usability and actionable data. For more information visit assistcenter.org.