UW will receive $82,500 in Phase I Research and Technology Development funding from Washington Technology Center and $16,500 from Healionics for the project titled “Spherically Templated Angiogenic Regenerative (STAR) Materials for Reduced Infection and Improved Function of Percutaneous Devices.”
Medical devices that breach the skin play an essential role in patient care. They deliver drugs and fluids to the body and have a variety of other uses. However, because the body’s natural barrier to disease is broken by these devices, patients are predisposed to bacterial infection. For example, infections from central venous catheters are attributed to more than 30,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone. Despite the risks, the medical use of these devices is expected to grow.
In this Phase I project, UW Professor of Medicine Philip Fleckman plans to evaluate healing responses and bacterial reduction attained with a prototype catheter technology developed by Healionics. The prototype’s use of precisely-engineered biomaterials could help to maximize skin healing and thus reduce the risk of infection. Additional studies should help Healionics bring this promising medical technology to market.
