MedStar Inventor Services works with MedStar Health associates to transform innovative ideas and discoveries into commercial products that advance health, increase the quality, efficiency, and safety of our system, and improve the experience of patients, families, and providers within MedStar Health and beyond.
Our team helps assess associates’ ideas and innovations to determine their commercial potential, working with associates through every step of the process. If you are a MedStar Health associate ready to make your idea a reality, MedStar Inventor Services can:
- Discover whether your idea already exists
- Evaluate the clinical need, readiness, and commercial potential of your idea
- Negotiate and collaborate with industry partners to get your idea into the world
- Manage legal agreements and industry relationships throughout the commercialization process
Want to learn more? Read about our process or browse FAQs below.
Our process
MedStar Inventor Services strives to increase associate satisfaction by engaging the inventor in all stages of the following process.
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Step 1: Ideate
A great invention starts with a great idea—but it requires development to bring it to life.
Share your idea with us in one of two ways:
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If you have a general concept and would like help developing it further, email us at invent@medstar.net
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If you have a more developed idea, share your invention via the Invention Disclosure Form.
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Step 2: Evaluate
Our team will research products or patents that may be similar to your idea. After providing an overview of what the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office looks for during the patent approval process, together we’ll decide whether and/or how to move forward. If your invention has commercial viability, our team may assume monetary responsibility for legal and marketing in subsequent steps in the process.
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Step 3: Cultivate
Activities at this stage depend on the invention, but may involve one or more of the following:
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Protecting the intellectual property around the invention via patent, copyright, and/or trademark
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Prototyping and completing proof-of-concept studies
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Pursuing grant funding or a corporate partnership to co-develop the technology
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Step 4: Translate
As a not-for-profit healthcare system, we do not have all the expertise or resources necessary to bring an invention to market. The ultimate goal of commercialization is to transfer the technology to a corporation for further development, shepherding it through the regulatory pathway, manufacturing, marketing, and sales processes. We will market your technology to companies, negotiate license agreements, and monitor the company for compliance with the agreement. If your invention goes to market, you are eligible to receive 50% of revenue after expenses.
Available technologies
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Gravity Feed Syringe Holder
Improving ease and efficiency of neonatal intensive care with a 3D-printed syringe holder.
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Cartoon Cast Saw Cover
A protective cover for circular cast saws to reduce anxiety for adolescent patients.
Explore more available technologies supported by the MedStar Inventor Services team with opportunities for licensing/collaboration partners.
About us
MedStar Inventor Services was founded in 2011 as part of the Global Healthcare Innovations Alliance, launched by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and MedStar Health. During the Alliance’s nine years of operation, Cleveland Clinic Innovations provided on-the-ground support as MedStar Inventor Services built systems and resources necessary to tap into the creative talents of MedStar Health associates and manage an “idea-to-market” process, among other Alliance member collaborations. Read more about this historical partnership here.
The MedStar Inventor Services team partners externally with strategic collaborators and advisors who support the commercialization process, such as FDA consultants, invention evaluation and market feedback analysts, and patent attorneys. Recently, the Business Innovation Lab team partnered with the Builders + Backers program to support an inaugural inventors class at MedStar Health with additional resources and guidance in bringing innovative ideas to market.
Over the years, MedStar Inventor Services explored and built the MInnovations program which celebrated and shared unique and innovative tools, processes, and other solutions created by MedStar Health associates to support their day-to-day work. Read a case study on the MInnovations program here.
Contact us
General inquiries: invent@medstar.net