On September 8, MCIRCC and AirStrip signed a master alliance agreement for a product development collaboration that will initially focus on creating a commercially viable clinical decision support (CDS) platform specific to the MCIRCC Critical Care Pilot Project. As you already know, back in August the Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs (EVPMA) Cabinet approved an advanced analytic platform purchase from IBM for this very same pilot project. In addition, IBM and AirStrip have recently formed a contractual relationship with one another.

This pilot project, known as the Analytic for Hemodynamic Instability (AHI), features a data analytic that predicts hemodynamic instability with ICU patients before it is visually apparent. Hemodynamic instability is when blood flow drops and deprives the body of needed oxygen resulting in one of the most common causes of death for critically ill or injured patients. Unlike the current approach of monitoring patients at certain intervals, this data analytic would detect the early onset of hemodynamic instability and alert key medical personnel to facilitate early intervention and could therefore increase patient survival.

The MCIRCC, IBM and AirStrip alliance and its clinical decision support initiative was unveiled to news media during the 2014 Health 2.0 Fall Conference, a showcase for cutting-edge technologies transforming health and healthcare, September 21-24 in Santa Clara, CA. And just last week, a press release was issued on October 22 formally announcing the alliance.

To summarize, MCIRCC and AirStrip will work to co-develop a mobile monitoring solution, using IBM's streaming analytics technology, that combines data from electronic medical records, body sensors and other sources, with predictive analytics to deliver critical health insights to doctors' mobile devices. MCIRCC is developing the advanced analytics and testing its ability to identify and predict hemodynamic instability for early intervention of at-risk patients. If successful, this clinical decision support tool could transition beyond critical care into comprehensive hospital-to-home care models.

A decade ago, America's health care community took on heart attacks with gusto, harnessing the power of research and data to ensure that every patient got the best possible care.

It worked: Death rates for heart attack have dropped. The same has happened with heart failure and pneumonia. Now, say MCIRCC members Jack Iwashyna, M.D., Ph.D., and Colin Cooke, M.D., M.Sc., M.S., it's time to do the same for sepsis.

In a new viewpoint article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the authors lay out the case for a national system that would hold hospitals and care teams accountable for sepsis diagnosis and care.

To read the full announcement visit the UMHS website.

A car crash throws a pregnant woman out onto the pavement, gravely wounded - and about to have a baby who will also need immediate life-saving treatment. A medical helicopter lands nearby, and two flight nurses in blue jumpsuits rush to the scene. After treating the woman and delivering the baby, they load their patients onto the waiting helicopter, and speed away at 175 miles an hour toward the University of Michigan Health System's medical campus.

Or at least they would have, if this had been an actual emergency.

Instead, it was a very realistic scenario for a simulated emergency - part of a competition that tested the skills and knowledge of a U-M Survival Flight crew and their colleagues from the U.S. and Canada.

When the competition was over, the Survival Flight team emerged victorious, bringing home the program's fifth international title in the 13 years the competition has been held.

To read the full story, click here.

Dr. Ward explains the Resonance Raman Spectroscopy.

On October 10, Congressman Fred Upton (MI-06) stopped at MCIRCC during his visit to the University of Michigan as part of the 21st Century Cures initiative, which aims to accelerate the pace of cures and medical breakthroughs in the United States. This initiative is sponsored by the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, chaired by Upton, which also oversees much of America's funding for scientific research.

The 21st Century Cures initiative

This strategy resonates with MCIRCC because our vision is to transform critical care medicine through multidisciplinary integration and industry partnerships for improved patient care and outcomes. This approach has the best chance of creating and accelerating game-changing technologies from bench to bedside.

Upton's visit is significant because his 21st Century Cures initiative recognizes that while science moves swiftly forward, new approaches must be developed that close the gap between advances in scientific knowledge and technology implementation. During his visit, MCIRCC underscored that changes could be made to the current federal drug and device approval process and NIH investment mechanisms to better align with innovation goals. The creation of a NIH-based institute or program dedicated to critical care could also have a major impact on the larger healthcare ecosystem.

The visit opened with MCIRCC Executive Director Kevin Ward, MD presenting the critical care story and how MCIRCC aims to transform care delivery. This was followed by two product demonstrations of solutions under development involving new vital signs and non-invasive patient monitoring technologies.

All in all, it was a productive visit. MCIRCC was able to share its thoughts on closing the gaps with critical care delivery given today's federal funding models alongside the regulatory landscape.