UW Engineering Innovation in Health

Engineering Innovation in Health (EIH) is a program that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration between engineering and the health sciences with the goal of developing technical solutions to pressing challenges in health care.
Undergraduate and graduate students can participate in EIH through the course sequence, while health care professionals can get involved by submitting unmet health challenges.
EIH teams translate their clinical challenges into innovative functional prototype solutions, designed to meet all the needs of their particular health challenges. These prototypes may take the form of a device, process, or application. The EIH program hosts a Spring Showcase to share these health innovations with the wider UW community.
EIH prototype solutions are the first step in addressing a clinical challenge. These solutions can be carried forward in a variety of endeavors, including launching the device to generate patents or using the preliminary data gathered for subsequent publications and grant applications. With continued development, the solution provides the potential for new, innovation-based clinical evaluations, research projects, or spinout companies.
EIH was founded in 2013. The program was the brainchild of a small committee of faculty and external advisory board members: Jonathan Posner (ME faculty), Per Reinhall (ME chair), Fred Silverstein, Paul Leonard, Jon Bishay, and James Reichman.
Since its inception, the program has grown to engage students from nine engineering and science departments. Over 200 students have participated in the program — 80% undergraduate, 15% master’s, 5% doctoral — and worked with more than 100 clinicians.
The program was renamed to Engineering Innovation in Health to better describe the focus on improving health, rather than treating disease, through collaboration with a diverse range of health sciences that includes nursing, dentistry, public health, and social work.

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