DMD ConferenceMcNamara Alumni Center

April 10, 2013

Bin He, Ph.D.Director, Institute for Engineering in Medicine

The Institute for Engineering in Medicine Academy of Medical Device Innovators was created in 2012 to honor individual researchers who have made great impact on patients’ lives through innovative research at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Augustine was one of the first clinicians to identify the need for patient warming for operative procedures. He championed the development of temperature management systems for pre-surgical, surgical, and post-operative care unit uses. These devices and his efforts to educate the medical community on the benefits of maintaining normothermia have changed clinical practice and led to a new standard of care for surgical patients.

Dr. Benditt has long taken an interest in the use of cardiac stimulation techniques to improve patient care. His collaboration in the development of Body-surface mapping methods for arrhythmia diagnosis resulted in his laboratory being the seminal site for early development of intra-cardiac ‘non-contact’ mapping. He also pioneered the addition of tilt-table testing to clinical practice and advocated for sensor-based pacing systems.

Dr. Erdman established the Medical Devices Center and the Medical Devices Fellows Program at the University of Minnesota and initiated the annual Design of Medical Devices Conference, which is now considered one of the premier such conferences internationally. He led the effort to create LINCAGES, a mechanism software design package that has been use worldwide. He has consulted with over 50 companies in mechanical and medical product design.

Dr. Gustilo designed and commercialized one of the earliest total knee replacements (the Gustilo knee). He also designed the first hip replacement approved by the FDA for use without bone cement (the BIAS Hip) and one of the most successful current generation of total knee replacements (the Genesis knee). Additionally, he has designed numerous other surgical instruments, fracture-fixation devices and implants.

Dr. Iaizzo is the Associate Director for the Institute for Engineering in Medicine. He is also the Director of the Visible Heart Laboratory which is well recognized for its novel imaging of functional cardiac anatomy and research related to translational systems physiology and medical device testing. He has developed several novel device related educational programs and holds numerous patents related to cardiac and patient warming/cooling devices.

Dr. Nicoloff was the co-inventor of the St. Jude Medical heart valve, which set the standard for artificial heart valves and has been implanted in over 1,500,000 patients worldwide. He designed, and fostered the development of multiple surgical procedures. He was a master of repairing both congenital and acquired cardiac disease and performed over 10,000 open-heart surgeries on patients ranging in age from one day to over 100 years.

Dr. Tranquillo is a world-leader in the area of tissue engineering. He pioneered the concept of “tissue equivalents,” which entails external and cell-mediated alignment and remodeling of artificial extracellular matrix resulting in the formation of functional artificial tissues. He also created three types of tissue equivalents relevant to the cardiovascular system: the heart valve, small-diameter blood vessel, and myocardium.

With Dr. Ugurbil’s distinguished leadership, the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research at the University of Minnesota has become a premier center for MRI and in vivo MRS research worldwide. He is a pioneer for promoting and advancing the high/ultrahigh field MRI/MRS technology for imaging biological functionality, structure, and cellular metabolism, as well as for understanding underlying physiology, pathology, and morphology.

Dr. Varco was closely involved in the development and clinical application of cross-circulation for performing open heart surgery. He was first assistant in the first successful direct-vision open-heart operation (September 2, 1952) and in the first open-heart operation using cross-circulation (March 26, 1954). Additionally, Dr. Varco led the first jejunoileal bypass operation in 1953, and is the co-inventor of the first implantable pump for insulin delivery.

The annual IEM Director's Award is given to a current IEM member whom has made a sustained impact beyond the scope of the University that exemplifies the IEM and its mission.

In addition to his work as Director of the Visible Heart Laboratory, Dr. Iaizzo has served as the Associate Director of Education for the Institute of Engineering in Medicine (IEM) since 2007. He has been a continued champion of the IEM mission and doing so has developed and overseen numerous associated courses, conferences, and outreach programs. He has published over 180 original article, edited 4 books, teaches in over 10 courses and has mentored over 125 postdocs, graduate and medical students in his laboratory.