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Summer Chill—July 29, 2025 -
Summer Chill—July 29, 2025 -
Summer Chill—July 29, 2025 -
Summer Chill—July 29, 2025 -
Summer Chill—July 29, 2025
Summer Chill returns on July 29
OMAHA, Nebraska (July 14, 2025)—UNeMed’s Summer Chill event will return on Tuesday, July 29, at 2-4 p.m., in the green space outside the Durham Research Center towers.
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the event will feature games, fun and refreshments to help UNMC researchers, faculty, staff and students meet and connect with colleagues and UNeMed staff.
Complimentary flavored shaved ice will be provided by Kona Ice for as long as supplies last.
Innovative wearable tech headlines next Idea Pub
OMAHA, Nebraska (July 7, 2025)—The next Idea Pub: Morning Edition will be held on Thursday, July 31, at 9 a.m. in the Catalyst building’s Forge Event Hall.
The event will feature award-winning UNO scientists working on ground-breaking innovations related to wearable technologies.
Song-young Park, PhD, and Cody Anderson will discuss their improved algorithms for wearable blood pressure monitoring devices, which was named UNeMed’s Most Promising New Invention at the 2022 Innovation Awards. Anderson is a doctoral research assistant in Dr. Park’s Vascular and Metabolic Phenotyping Research Lab in UNO’s School of Health & Kinesiology.
David Kingtston, PhD, Director of UNO’s Movement Analysis Core and Brian Knarr, PhD, Director of UNO’s Machining and Prototyping Core will also deliver breif remarks about their services and offerings.
Dr. Knarr is a two-time Most Promising Invention recipient and was part of the department-wide Innovator of the Year Award presented to UNO Biomechanics in 2018. He was among three co-inventors on the “Improved Self-Pacing Treadmill” for the Most Promising New Invention of 2022, and was part of a six-member team on 2024’s Most Promising New Invention, the “Ruggedized Beam Helmet.”
Idea Pub: Morning Edition will be held in Catalyst Omaha on the western edge of the UNMC campus, on Saddle Creek Road. Free coffee and doughnuts will be provided. Catalyst, a co-sponsor of the event, will also offer complimentary facility tours on a first-come, first-served basis.
Metered parking is available along 46th Street.
The event is set for 9-11 a.m. in the Forge Event Hall on the north end of the building.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, created Morning Edition to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture capital and startup communities.
Morning Edition will also regularly feature “Office Hours” with UNeMed staff and Charlie Cuddy, who co-founded the Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will be held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the University’s stable of successful and budding startup companies and from Omaha’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
The event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided as long as supplies last.
Future planned dates and speakers are:
- Aug. 28: PinkSteady
- Sep. 25: Deep Health Diagnostics
- Oct. 30: UNO NCITE
- Nov. 20: XRenegades- A Firework Media Studio, LLC
- Dec. 18: Surgical Simulation Technologies
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
Morning Edition: New medical training platform shortens the learning curve
UNMC’s Edward O’Leary, MD, talks with other attendees shorty before presenting his startup, Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions, to the gathering at the networking event, Idea Pub: Morning Edition, held on June 26, 2025.
OMAHA, Nebraska (June 26, 2025)—UNMC’s Edward O’Leary, MD, an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, was the featured speaker at yesterday’s Idea Pub: Morning Edition.
Dr. O’Leary, co-founder of Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions, described his more efficient and effective training methods for a highly specialized procedure, coronary angiography. Coronary angiography involves a medical professional injecting a patient’s blood system with a dye that allows healthcare professionals to use X-ray imagery to clearly see the veins and arteries around the heart.
Using real-time X-ray imaging, angiography shows physicians the best path to guide a wire or thin tube through a patient’s blood vessels. The procedure can be used to diagnose something like coronary artery disease or to install a stent that opens a narrowed or blocked blood vessel.
But learning to navigate the three-dimensional twists and turns of normal human anatomy from a flat, two-dimensional video screen can take a year or more to master. Aprendo’s medical training platform promises to shorten that learning curve while also making access to the training more widely available.
Too often training is limited to physicians when other professionals are also in the room during a procedure, usually an X-ray technician and a nurse.
“Everyone in the room needs to be able to interpret coronary angiography,” Dr. O’Leary said. Enabling everyone with the skill to interpret coronary angiographies would lead to better patient care and outcomes, he said.
Appsky CEO Tyler Reher chats with a guest shortly after his presentation at the June 26, 2025, Idea Pub: Morning Edition.
Aprendo’s solution is a software-based platform built in collaboration with Omaha app developer Appksy. Tyler Reher, Appsky’s CEO, worked on the Aprendo project, and helped build the application so that it could potentially expand to other areas such peripheral arteries or the brain.
Morning Edition is UNeMed’s networking event for university innovators, entrepreneurs and startup community members. Catalyst Omaha co-sponsors the event and provides free tours of the spacious facility.
Morning Editions will continue to be a fixture in the Catalyst’s Forge Event Hall, located on the north end of the building. Guided tours will also continue as an added feature.
The next Morning Edition is planned for Thursday, July 31, 2025, in the Event Hall at 9 a.m.-11 a.m.
Nebraska ranks No. 82 in world for U.S. patents
OMAHA, Nebraska (June 19, 2025)—For the eighth consecutive year, the University of Nebraska system is listed among the global list of top 100 universities that have secured the most United States patents.
Nebraska ranks No. 82 with 47 listed patents for the 2024 calendar year. Among exclusively domestic institutions, Nebraska ranked No. 49.
“At the University of Nebraska, innovation is part of our DNA,” said NU President Jeffrey P. Gold, MD. “Our ability to move ideas from the lab to the marketplace is a clear measure of our impact, and this recognition reflects our sustained dedication to advancing science and ultimately improving lives. I’m grateful to our faculty, students and staff whose creativity and collaboration continue to drive discovery, economic growth and progress for our state and the world.”
The list is part of a report produced annually by the National Academy of inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association.
H. Dele Davies, MD, interim chancellor of UNMC, said innovation was a critical factor in the university’s mission to improve the lives and health of people in Nebraska and beyond.
“This ranking demonstrates UNMC and the University of Nebraska’s commitment to fostering new ideas and seeking creative solutions that enhance the lives of our fellow Nebraskans and the people we serve,” he said. “We are especially gratefully to our faculty innovators whose dedication is translating ideas into real-world impact.”
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO—and their UNL counterpart in Lincoln, NUTech Ventures—helped secure the patents on behalf of University inventors and their collaborators.“Being named among the Top 100 universities for securing U.S. patents is an incredible honor,” UNeMed CEO and President Michael Dixon, PhD, said. “But what truly sets us apart is impact. Seventy-two percent of our patents have been licensed for further development, showing our innovations are moving off the shelf and into the world to improve lives and drive economic growth.”
Patents help attract the interest and support of corporate partners to fund additional development and commercialization. That might include large, legacy brand names or brand-new startup companies that create area jobs, products and tax revenue for the local economy.
Among the patents UNeMed helped secure are seven related to the work of Virtual Incision, a Lincoln-based startup that grew from a cross-campus collaboration between UNMC and UNL. Virtual Incision recently gained FDA approval for its surgical robotics platform and is currently available in use on the open market.
Another UNMC patent relates to the work of Howard Gendelman, MD, and Benson Edagawa, PhD, co-founders of Exavir Therapeutics. Their patented technology relates to long-acting formulations for the treatment of HIV.
Three patents related to UNO innovations, including new anti-parasitic compounds; an NCITE-created chatbot for reporting possible terrorism threats; and a self-pacing treadmill that is the cornerstone technology behind Impower, an Omaha startup.
“At UNO, we believe in innovating with purpose for the benefit of Nebraskans,” said UNO Chancellor Joanne Li, PhD. “When we empower our brightest minds to tackle local challenges that touch lives right here at home, we can deliver solutions that resonate around the world. Each patent represents the power of pragmatic, metropolitan research.”
Additional patents UNeMed secured will protect University of Nebraska innovations related to shielding clinicians during fluoroscopic procedures; a tracking system for surgical saws used during implant procedures; and several other medical devices and discoveries.
SPN: MicroWash launches product nationwide
OMAHA, Nebraska (June 11, 2025)—MicroWash, a nasal sample collection device invented at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, is now available nationwide, according to a news article published today at Silicon Prairie News.
MicroWash is a self-contained irrigation device that allows clinicians to easily and painlessly collect samples from a patient’s nasal cavity. The innovation was born from the frustrations and marked discomfort of the traditional nasal swabs that gained notoriety during the COVD-19 pandemic.
Invented by UNMC ER nurse Thanh Nguyen, PhD, and Emergency Medicine Chair, Michael Wadman, MD, the MicroWash device eliminates the need for a clinician to insert a swab in the deepest recesses of a patient’s skull. More importantly, it also standardizes and simplifies the sample collection process.
MicroWash was the cornerstone technology that built the startup, University Medical Devices, which closed a $1.6 million seed round last year, according to the Silicon Prairie News.
Read the full article about University Medical Devices and its MicroWash device on the Silicon Prairie News site: https://siliconprairienews.com/2025/06/unmc-innovation-born-from-the-covid-pandemic-now-available-to-healthcare-workers-nationwide/.
Virtual Incision featured in national tech transfer project
OMAHA, Nebraska (June 13, 2025)—Virtual Incision, the surgical robotics startup built on an innovative collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, landed on the front page of a national publication recently.
AUTM, the Association of University Technology Managers, launched its “Better World Project” more than a decade ago as a way to highlight success stories about innovations that grew from University research and innovation.
Virtual Incision is the latest Nebraska innovation to be featured on that Better World Project.
AUTM’s story about Virtual Incision looks into the role that technology transfer offices like UNeMed played in helping establish the surgical robotics company. The article also highlights Virtual Incision’s recent FDA-clearance and its potential to bring laparoscopic surgeries to remote areas, including orbit.
According to AUTM’s website, the Better World Project “not only showcase the value of the technologies and their applications around the world, but also the important steps that build tech transfer success. There are examples of unique funding obtained by researchers, key collaborations with industry and the many contributions of tech transfer offices that have helped bring the research to life.”
Previous UNMC-related innovations featured on the Better World Project are:
- New Medications Offer Hope for the Scourge of Malaria
- Medical Devices Out of Nebraska Make for Better Outcomes and Happier, Healthier Radiologists
- UNMC Designs Shield to Protect from Coronavirus During Intubation Procedure
Applications now open for 2025 Tech Transfer Boot Camp
OMAHA, Nebraska (June 11, 2025)—UNeMed announced today that its annual Technology Transfer Boot Camp will be held Aug. 18-22.
The Technology Transfer Boot Camp is aimed at scientists and students interested in the process of commercializing an academic innovation or discovery. The week-long series of seminars and hands-on training can help jump-start an alternate career in science as a technology transfer professional.
The program helps scientists gain a wide range of skills and experience to match their scientific knowledge and training.
The Boot Camp focuses on several key areas relevant to a successful career in technology transfer, including:
- Invention evaluation
- Intellectual property law
- Marketing and commercialization
- Contract negotiation
UNeMed’s 2025 Technology Transfer Boot Camp will dive deeper than simple lectures. Topics will be explored with hands-on activities meant to teach new skills and abilities.
Anyone within the University of Nebraska system is encouraged to apply and participate free of charge, but space is limited. All sessions will be held at UNeMed in the new Catalyst building, on west side of Saddle Creek Road.
Applications are open through July 11, and will be reviewed in the order they are received until all spaces are filled.
To apply, follow this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf5j7HSF6qfRnqS6VUlp1L5QvrcXIM1asPq36fxlnGp1mkrAQ/viewform?usp=sf_link.
More information about the application process and requirements can be found at https://www.unemed.com/about-us/join-our-team#bootcamp.
Medical training app to be featured at next Idea Pub
Dr. O’Leary
OMAHA, Nebraska (June 10, 2025)—The next Idea Pub: Morning Edition will be held on Thursday, June 26, at 9 a.m. in the Catalyst building’s Forge Event Hall.
The event will feature a short presentation from UNMC associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, Edward O’Leary, MD. He will discuss the startup company he founded, Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions, which develops educational software applications.
Aprendo’s first planned product is the Cardiac Cath Lab Mentor, which is currently in development with Appsky, an Omaha-based app development company. The Cardiac Cath Lab Mentor is an interactive software program that will help medical students learn how to interpret and understand certain complicated medical diagnostic tests.
Appsky CEO Tyler Reher will also be on hand for the networking event and is expected to deliver brief remarks.
The event will be held in the new Catalyst building on the western edge of the UNMC campus, on Saddle Creek Road. Free coffee and doughnuts will be provided, and co-sponsor Catalyst will also offer complimentary facility tours on a first-come, first-served basis.
Metered parking is available along 46th Street.
The event is set for 9-10 a.m. in the event center on the north end of the building.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, created Morning Edition to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture capital and startup communities.
Morning Edition will also regularly feature “Office Hours” with UNeMed staff and Charlie Cuddy, who co-founded the Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will be held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the University’s stable of successful and budding startup companies and from Omaha’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
The event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided as long as supplies last.
Future planned dates and speakers are:
- July 31: Wearable Algorithms
- Aug. 28: PinkSteady
- Sep. 25: Deep Health Diagnostics
- Oct. 30: UNO NCITE
- Nov. 20: XRenegades- A Firework Media Studio, LLC
- Dec. 18: Surgical Simulation Technologies
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
Catalyst unveiled in grand opening
Officials ceremoniously cut a ribbon for the Catalyst grand opening on the evening of Wednesday, June 28, 2025. Pictured from left are University of Nebraska Medical Center interim Chancellor Dele Davies; University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold; Koelbel and Company Vice President Dean Koelbel; Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen; and Greenslate Development’s Jay Lund and Clay Vanderheiden.
OMAHA, Nebraska (May 29, 2025)—The Catalyst building in the Edge District kicked the tires on its brand new facility last night with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting during a Grand Opening event.
The first of a three-phase development, the $97 million cross-functional building is about 170,000 square feet that will house a combination of research scientists, healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs and investor groups.
“This is huge for Omaha, huge for Nebraska and huge for generations and generations to come,” Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen told an estimated crowd of 150 during brief remarks.
Big Grove Brewery, an anchor tenant at the new Catalyst building, provided free drinks and food for guests during the grand opening event on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. Big Grove is expected to open the doors to its restaurant and craft brewery in July.
UNMC’s portion of the investment was $29 million, which will amount to nearly 41,000 square feet of space. Much of that space will be dedicated to research including the addition of more lab space in later phases.
“But at the end of the day, until that exercise in research improves a human life, it is just that: An exercise,” University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold said.
Bringing together the researchers, entrepreneurs and UNeMed—UNMC’s technology transfer and commercialization office—into one building has the potential to create new connections and foster more innovative solutions, Dr. Gold said.
Additional speakers at the ceremony were UNMC interim Chancellor Dele Davies; lead developer, Dean Koelbel, Vice President of the Denver-based Koelbel and Company; and Corrine Wardian, the community manager at Catalyst.
According to a thorough report in the Nebraska Examiner, the Catalyst building is already 20 percent full with 18 tenants.
UNeMed is among that first cohort of foundational tenants: A seemingly perfect fit for an office that specializes in commercializing university innovations and discoveries. In the last five years, UNeMed has processed 526 new inventions from UNMC and UNO innovators, leading to 76 license agreements and 19 startup companies.
“The upside is we’re around people that are thinking like us, want to do work like we do,” UNeMed CEO Michael Dixon told the Nebraska Examiner.
Catalyst was built on the ashes of Omaha Steel Casting, an industrial tract originally established back in 1906. The old foundry provided steel in the construction of the state capital building in 1922 and produced artillery shells and amphibious landing craft that stormed so many beaches during World War II.
A key feature of Catalyst was in keeping a lot of that history intact and as a visible part of the now-modern facility.
“You cannot create this kind of stuff,” Greenslate Development’s Jay Lund told the Nebraska Examiner. “Once you lose it, it’s gone forever.”
Read the entire Nebraska Examiner report here: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/05/28/old-omaha-steel-plant-reborn-as-catalyst-medical-centric-office-hub-investment-reaches-97m/
Morning Edition: Tri-campus team helps build Grasshopper Health
Fadi Alsaleem, PhD, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was among the presenters Thursday, May 22, 2025 during UNeMed’s Idea Pub: Morning Edition. He is also the CTO at Grasshopper Health, which presented its wearable tech during the networking event.
OMAHA, Nebraska (May 22, 2025)—UNeMed’s Idea Pub: Morning Edition, a networking event, continued today at Catalyst with Grasshopper Health delivering the featured presentation.
Built on collaboration between three University of Nebraska campuses, Grasshopper Health is a Lincoln-based startup developing a wearable device that can help doctors monitor the way a patient walks. A patient’s gait can indicate almost two dozen different indications, including life threatening and debilitating diseases like Parkinson’s Disease, stroke and several post-surgical complications.
“We could put 1,000 Grasshopper patches on patients,” CEO Richard Vlasimsky said, “and one doctor can monitor those 1,000 patients at the same time.”
The Grasshopper patch resembles a large Band-Aid that a patient would wear on their skin. As the patch collects data about how the patient moves and other biorhythms, a complex algorithm processes the data into a working picture of the patient’s health. The cloud-based innovation would then alert healthcare providers of potential problems in real time, perhaps even accurately diagnosing chronic conditions long before current means can detect.
The new device is the result of a team-up that includes Irakilis Pipinos, MD, Professor of Surgery at UNMC and the Chief of Vascular Surgery at the Nebraska VA Medical Center; Sarah Myers, PhD, Professor of biomechanics and the Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activity at UNO; and Fadi Alsaleem, PhD, an associate professor of engineering at UNL.
Vlasimsky, the CEO, announced that Grasshopper is looking to raise $1 million for a Series A funding round that will finance the first round of beta testing within the next year. The Grasshopper patch could be ready for clinical trials as early as 2027, with an eye toward seeking regulatory approval before the end of 2028.
Morning Edition is UNeMed’s networking event for university innovators, entrepreneurs and startup community members. Catalyst co-sponsors the event, and provides free tours of the spacious facility, which is planning a grand opening event next week.
Future Morning Editions will continue meeting in Catalyst’s Forge Event Hall, on the north end of the building. Guided tours will also continue as a feature of upcoming Morning Editions.
The next Morning Edition is planned for Thursday, June 26, 2025, in the Catalyst Forge Event Hall at 9 a.m.-11 a.m. The featured speaker will be UNMC’s innovative associate professor of cardiovascular medicine, Ed O’Leary, MD, who co-founded Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions.
Wearable tech startup, sim lab expo on tap for Idea Pub
OMAHA, Nebraska (May 12, 2025)—The next Idea Pub: Morning Edition is set for Thursday, May 22, at 9 a.m. in the Catalyst building’s Forge Event Hall.
The event will feature brief remarks from Richard Vlasimsky, the CEO of Grasshopper Health, a wearable tech startup in Lincoln. The Grasshopper Patch, which resembles a large Band-Aid, is a device that can help doctors remotely monitor the wearer’s gait.
Gait can often provide insight for diagnosing and treating serious conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, stroke, post-surgical complications and peripheral artery disease.
His presentation will be held in the new Catalyst building on the western edge of the UNMC campus, on Saddle Creek Road. Free coffee and doughnuts will be provided, and co-sponsor Catalyst will also offer complimentary facility tours on a first-come, first-served basis.
Metered parking is available along 46th Street.
The event is set for 9-10 a.m. in the event center on the north end of the building.
Immediately following Idea Pub, Pipeline Worldwide will host the Omaha Simulation Container Lab Expo at 10 a.m. The showcase will feature a ground-breaking project that transformed a shipping container into a fully equipped medical simulation training lab. The lab will soon be shipped to Uganda where it will be used to provide additional medical education to healthcare professionals in underserved regions. Tours of the lab are available by reservation.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, created Morning Edition to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture capital and startup communities.
Morning Edition will also regularly feature “Office Hours” with UNeMed staff and Charlie Cuddy, who co-founded the Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will be held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the University’s stable of successful and budding startup companies and from Omaha’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
The event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided as long as supplies last.
Future planned dates and speakers are:
- June 26: Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions
- July 31: Wearable Algorithms
- Aug. 28: PinkSteady
- Sep. 25: Deep Health Diagnostics
- Oct. 30: UNO NCITE
- Nov. 20: XR Renegades
- Dec. 18: Surgical Simulation Technologies
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
Omaha startup clears FDA, will hit market this month
UNMC surgeon, Jason Johanning, MD, inventor and founder of Automated Assessments, presents his innovative approach for determining patient frailty before surgical prcedures.
OMAHA, Nebraska (May 7, 2025)—Local startup Automated Assessments recently landed FDA approval for its medical device and will be on the market and available for clinical use in the coming weeks, co-founder and inventor Jason Johanning, MD, announced last month.
Dr. Johanning, Professor of Vascular Surgery at UNMC and a nationally recognized expert on surgical quality, made the announcement as the featured speaker of the most recent Idea Pub: Morning Edition, held on April 24, 2025. Morning Edition is UNeMed’s entrepreneurial networking event.
“We’ve automated frailty assessment,” he told the gathering during his brief presentation in the new Catalyst building in the Edge District. Adding later: “We’re at the finish line.”
Automated Assessment’s frailty assessment tool, Vital-IT, is a handheld device that helps surgeons and healthcare workers determine the potential risk and recovery requirements for surgical patients. a patient’s ability to withstand and recover from surgery. The system, produced and manufactured in Nebraska, represents a significant improvement over previous methods for performing frailty assessment and automates the whole process.
Previous approaches to pre-surgical risk screening was a physician’s “eyeball” test. The field has moved to a more objective assessment by assessing frailty with a brief questionnaire.
While Chief of Surgery at the Omaha VA Medical Center, Dr. Johanning developed a more robust variation of the pre-operative assessment called the “Surgical Pause.” It established a new standard measure of patient frailty assessments, and was awarded the Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Innovation Award by the Joint Commission and National Quality Forum.
A critical element for the approaching product launch is that VITAL-IT can seamlessly connect with virtually all major healthcare platforms that track everything from patient charts to billing and reimbursement systems.
Automating the assessment was important for several reasons, including saving time and money for clinical staff and their institutions. But more importantly, Dr. Johanning said, many physicians and patients might not recognize their own frailty and are surprised when poor outcomes occur.
Patients might worry that “you’re going to identify me as frail and then use that to not take care of me,” he said. “That’s the absolute reverse of what we want to do. We want to identify frailty so we can wrap you with proper resources and care to optimize your outcome.”
Dillon De Rozairo (right), COO of Nebraska Innovation Labs, chats with an audience member shortly after his brief presentation during the April 24, 2025, Idea Pub: Morning Edition.
Dillon De Rozairo also delivered brief remarks, explaining the services Nebraska Innovation Labs provides. He is the Chief Operations Officer for the non-profit, which specializes in low-cost software and app development for area startups.
Morning Edition is UNeMed’s networking event for university innovators, entrepreneurs and startup community members. Catalyst, a co-sponsor of the event, also provided tours of the spacious facility, which is tentatively planning a grand opening event in late May.
Future Morning Editions will continue meeting in Catalyst’s Forge Event Hall, on the north end of the building. Guided tours will also continue as a feature of upcoming Morning Editions.
The next Morning Edition is planned for May 29, 2025, in the Catalyst Forge Event Hall at 9 a.m.-11 a.m. The featured speaker will be representatives of Grasshopper Health, which is developing a sophisticated wearable device for monitoring subtle changes and variations in a person’s gait. The device could lead to early diagnoses and determining disease progression for serious conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease.
What I learned as a tech transfer intern
by Cole Melton, UNeMed | May 5, 2025
A year ago, if someone had told me that doctors, patent lawyers, researchers, and business professionals could seamlessly collaborate, I would have been skeptical. Their roles, training, and personalities seemed worlds apart. But that was before I had the incredible opportunity to work at UNeMed, where I witnessed firsthand the magic of interdisciplinary teamwork.
As a medical and business student working as a licensing and marketing intern at UNeMed this past year, I quickly learned the importance of technology transfer in health care. Tech Transfer combines diverse professions to create success. I discovered the unique value tech transfer brings to colleges, universities, and the world by creating new products and opening new markets.
To bring new products to market, UNeMed transforms unassuming doctors and scientists into top-tier entrepreneurs. These individuals often don’t realize they want to become innovators, but UNeMed helps them discover their potential. This is their secret superpower.
This translation process is not without its challenges. I have witnessed lagging technology adoption directly impacting patient care in the clinic. Each day, researchers make new discoveries, but their impact on patients is delayed. Tech transfer provides the tools and capabilities to help doctors get their hands on new technology and spread new ideas quickly.
Apart from helping move technology forward, UNeMed and TTO’s can find new revenue sources for universities. The current uneasiness and shortfall with public funding can be addressed by tech transfer programs. These programs explore nontraditional funding routes, generate new project ideas, and shift focus to new grant applications. Technology transfer can lead investigators down less-traveled paths, and universities to unique success.
All these elements come together to define UNeMed. It’s a hub of hardworking, dedicated employees who are committed to driving innovation and making a positive impact on the world around them. My experience has shown the great potential of combining diverse disciplines to drive innovation and improve patient care. I encourage anyone interested in making a difference to explore the opportunities tech transfer offers.
Personally, my internship has been incredibly enriching. I’ve learned to evaluate all types of inventions, witnessed the relentless efforts of startups to bring their products to market, and expanded my network within the Omaha community. As I embark on my journey to become a clinician and hospital administrator, I now understand that tech transfer offices are invaluable. They support doctors and researchers in facing new challenges, fostering innovation, and solving complex problems.
Next Morning Edition set for April 24, surgical startup to headline
OMAHA, Nebraska (April 9, 2025)—The next Idea Pub: Morning Edition will be Thursday, April 24, with Jason Johanning, MD, lined up as the featured speaker.
Dr. Johanning is the vascular surgeon and Professor of Surgery at UNMC who invented a device that helps determine patient frailty before a surgery. A common practice among surgeons is to shake hands with patients about to undergo surgery, using grip strength as one indicator to help determine if the patient is healthy enough to withstand the procedure.
Dr. Johanning’s invention began as a way to quantify and standardize the subjective handshake. The invention has since evolved into a robust data gathering device and predictive algorithm, and is the cornerstone technology behind his startup, Automated Assessments.
His brief presentation will be held in the new Catalyst building on the western edge of campus, on Saddle Creek Road. Free coffee and doughnuts will be provided, along with facility tours on a first-come, first-served basis. Free parking will be available along 46th Street.
The event is set for 9-11 a.m. in the event center on the north end of the building.
Dr. Johanning is among UNeMed’s most prolific innovators with 23 inventions, 11th most among active inventors at UNMC. His startup was also named the 2019 Startup of the Year when it was doing business as FutureAssure.
Catalyst is co-sponsoring the event, offering complimentary facility tours.
UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, created Morning Edition to help University innovators and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with colleagues and experts from the venture capital and startup communities.
Morning Edition will also regularly feature “Office Hours” with UNeMed staff and Charlie Cuddy, who co-founded the Nebraska Startup Academy and MOVE Venture Capital. Office Hours creates the opportunity for faculty, students and staff to have one-on-one time with MOVE or UNeMed professionals to discuss new technologies or startup potential.
MOVE is a pre-seed and seed venture capital firm focused on investing in Nebraska technology startup companies. The Nebraska Startup Academy is a mentoring program for startup founders, investors and the local entrepreneurial community with the aim of building Nebraska into “an innovation hub in the Midwest.”
Morning Edition will be held on the final Thursday of every month and will continue to feature guest speakers from the University’s stable of successful and budding startup companies and from Omaha’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event will provide UNMC and UNO innovators an opportunity to build new partnerships and allies that can help develop their innovative ideas and discoveries into products that help people.
The event is free and open to all, and complimentary coffee and doughnuts will be provided as long as supplies last.
Future planned dates and speakers are:
- May 29: Grasshopper Health
- June 26: Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions
- July 31: Wearable Algorithms
- Aug. 28: PinkSteady
- Sep. 25: Deep Health Diagnostics
- Oct. 30: UNO NCITE
- Nov. 20: XRenegades- A Firework Media Studio, LLC
- Dec. 18: Surgical Simulation Tech
Morning Edition is part of UNeMed’s “Idea Pub,” a suite of entrepreneurial networking events that includes “Innovations & Libations” and “Startup Showcase.”
Fast Company lists Virtual Incision among world’s ‘Most Innovative Companies’
NEW YORK, New York (April 8, 2025)—Virtual Incision, a University of Nebraska startup company building the future of surgical robotics, was listed No. 8 in Fast Company magazine’s annual list of most innovative medical device makers in the world.
Virtual Incision’s inclusion was part of Fast Company’s annual spring edition: “Most Innovative Companies.” The full list includes 609 companies spread over 58 categories, all of which can be seen on the Fast Company website or in the printed version.
In the accompanying text piece about the top medical device companies, Fast Company noted that Virtual Incision “has made it easy for facilities of any size to offer minimally invasive surgery, even bringing its technology to space.”
The full text of Virtual Incision’s entry reads:
Minimally invasive surgery, which involves very small incisions, is great for patients. It results in less pain, fewer complications, and a shorter recovery time. However, roughly 90% of the operating rooms in the U.S. still lack access to technology that makes minimally invasive surgery possible.
Virtual Incision has created MIRA, the first miniaturized robotic surgical system for minimally invasive surgery. While many surgical robots require a dedicated mainframe and operating room, the approximately 2-pound MIRA can be used as a stand-alone device for smaller facilities or within an existing mainframe system. In February 2024, the Nebraska-based company received FDA approval to market MIRA for adults who need colectomies. Colectomies are one of the most complex abdominal procedures, and nearly half are still being performed as open surgery.
In addition, Virtual Incision took MIRA to space. In February 2024, the company developed a space version of MIRA and sent it to the International Space Station. Six surgeons based on earth were able to direct the space MIRA, and they successfully simulated surgical maneuvers such as grasping and cutting.
Closer to home, in July 2024, Virtual Incision launched an international study evaluating MIRA’s ability to handle gynecological procedures. At the end of that month, MIRA successfully completed a hysterectomy at Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland. While the study is still ongoing, in time the company hopes to get clearance for MIRA to do gynecological procedures.
Virtual Incision’s MIRA system is the product of a collaboration between co-founders Shane Farritor, PhD, a UNL robotics engineer, and Dmitry Oleynikov, MD, a former UNMC surgeon. With more than 200 patents and patent applications, Virtual Incision is headquartered in Lincoln.
