The way to differentiate the new Hartford bio-science economic zone from New Haven is to establish a “Bell Labs” for medical devices — everything from implants and instrumentation to tissue engineering.
Imagine a future not too far away. When 84-year-old Mary Green slips and falls outside her home, she is transported to the hospital emergency room where the physicians already have reviewed her records obtained from the medical informatics system developed in by Eclipsis Corp. in Farmington.
Her surgeons, who have honed their skill in the Hartford simulation lab, use a state of the art imaging system to send a CAD drawing of a custom hip implant to an aerospace machine shop in Bloomfield where robotic milling machines fabricate the device. It is shipped by courier and available for surgery within hours. This hybrid device, capped with tissue-engineered cartilage grown at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, exactly fits Mary’s disability. The computerized anesthesia system, custom designs and controls an anesthetic based on Mary’s specific physiology, derived from a DNA analysis of her blood drawn in the ER, an array of brain monitors, and a functional MRI of her cardiovascular system.
The United Technology robots assisting the orthopedic surgeons were designed by engineers and physicians from several Connecticut hospitals and universities, all members of BEACON, the Biomedical Engineering Alliance. She recovers on a computerized bed, designed in Hartford and manufactured in Connecticut, which can adapt to her individual shape, preventing pressure ulcers and speeding healing. It can even assist in her physical therapy. Her irregular heart beat, the cause of her fall, is also treated using state-of-the art minimally-invasive procedures invented in a Hartford hospital.
All of these advances are close to reality already. What is lacking is a coordinated means to develop the critical mass necessary to implement this future. The clinical base, research universities, manufacturers, and even the financing, all exist locally in the Greater Hartford Metro area. When you add the expertise of the aerospace, pharmaceutical, and insurance industries, it is clear that Central Connecticut has what it takes to become branded internationally, right beside Mass General, Johns Hopkins, and the Mayo Clinic.
The only realistic way to bring this all together is to establish an institute or corporation (nonprofit or for-profit) with a mission to produce innovative and marketable medical devices. It needs to be led by an experienced entrepreneur with a mandate to become financially self-sustaining within a reasonable time.
The income stream produced by sales and licensing of the results will foster additional growth and provide the investing institutions with a revenue stream while creating jobs and economic prosperity. Did I mention helping patients, as well?
There are significant barriers to overcome. Connecticut is not known as a business friendly state. Perhaps the special economic zone will change that perception. We are not as geographically compact as the Boston Metro area and Connecticut’s transportation system presents challenges. There are institutional cultural norms that have to be overcome, as well.
This is not business as usual.
Most importantly, we need to do the product manufacturing locally, within the economic zone. Manufacturing will provide the greatest potential for job growth in the region. It was responsible for much of Connecticut’s historical importance.
Now is the time to leverage the potential of Greater Hartford, the UConn initiative, and the bio-science economic zone to create a world-class “Bell Labs” for medical device research, development, and production. We can put Connecticut industry back on the world map.
Joseph McIsaac of Avon is chief of trauma anesthesia at Hartford Hospital. He also is an associate clinical professor of anesthesiology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and an associate adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at UConn’s Graduate School. In addition, he is CEO and director of research and development of Mountain Laurel Biomedical LLC.