ASSIST Center and DHIT Create Virtual Incubator to Advance Remote Care

Overnight, the world has gone virtual. COVID-19 has created a worldwide crisis that has shaken our communities to the core. Beyond the dangers of the virus itself, its impact will ripple through our economy and healthcare system for years. However, the present crisis creates an opportunity for our communities, policymakers, healthcare organizations, and technology innovators to come together and create new solutions. As a community we can solve problems not only related to COVID-19, but also those which are sustained long after the pandemic has passed to support the healthcare system’s transformation from in-hospital care to remote care.

Today, two Research Triangle-based organizations—the ASSIST Center (Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies) based at North Carolina State University and DHIT (the Digital Health Institute for Transformation)—are announcing a partnership to launch a virtual crowdsourced incubator that will serve as an innovation engine for advanced remote care by sourcing ideas from the ecosystem and nurturing them from inception to implementation.

The program, COVID-19 Unites Us All, will consist of a biweekly webinar series featuring panels of thought leaders in digital health, as well as an Innovation Sprint. By using a collaboration platform, Crowdicity, we aim to crowdsource ideas from participants and bring them through the vetting process so that the most promising can advance from ideation, to validation, and ultimately to commercialization. The program will host these panels and collect ideas through July 2020, then proceed with idea selection and resources for acceleration, such as the NC RioT Accelerator Program.

“The time is now to accelerate innovation in remote care through crowdsourced ideas,” says Michael Levy, President of DHIT and co-host of the webinar series. “Great ideas abound, and this program will serve as a vehicle to incubate innovation throughout the crisis and beyond. Prominent digital health organizations are continuing to sign up to support this effort.”

Adam Curry, Director of the Innovation Ecosystem at ASSIST and co-host of the webinar, says “The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that reliable sources of personal health data are critical to informing effective public health decisions. We are, therefore, excited to be working with DHIT to gather thought leaders in research, wearable health technologies, health care, and public health for in-depth explorations of this topic. We also look forward to working with DHIT and other partners to advance new technologies that can address critical health challenges.”

Webinar promotional graphic for a webinar on May 15 on technologies for remote care. They will also be discussing the virtual incubator for idea development.

The first webinar of this partnership series will launch on May 15th at 9:00 am EDT and feature a showcase of self-powered and low-powered wearable health sensor technologies from the ASSIST Center. You may register for free using this link.

ABOUT DHIT

The Digital Health Institute for Transformation (DHIT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit education and research institute supporting communities through the process of digital health transformation. We collaborate with leading academic institutions, associations, and industry to cultivate talent and ecosystems with our immersive learning platform, harnessing real-world experiences that drive the adoption of next generation skills, emerging technologies, and mindsets needed to foster the digital health leaders and innovators of the future, today. For more information, visit dhitglobal.org.

ABOUT THE ASSIST CENTER

The Center for Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST) at North Carolina State University develops leading-edge systems for high-value applications such as healthcare and IoT by integrating fundamental advances in energy harvesting, low-power electronics, and sensors with a focus on usability and actionable data. For more information visit assistcenter.org.