New UH institute to ramp up access to healthcare technology

HOUSTON - The University of Houston is launching its new Institute for Digital Healthcare Transformation under the UH Health umbrella. The initiative combines the university's technology programs with its medical school to develop tools such as wearable sensors, sleep monitors, and AI-driven apps that address gaps in healthcare access and delivery.

New UH Digital Healthcare institute

The backstory:

Historically, universities struggled to translate laboratory research into commercial products because researchers focused on study rather than business creation. 

To overcome this gap, the university is establishing a venture studio alongside a venture capital fund to assist entrepreneurs in bringing new medical devices to market quickly.

What they're saying:

"We are going to be developing digital healthcare technology like sensors, wearables, and AI-driven apps that help solve problems with healthcare access and delivery, and our venture studio with an associated venture capital fund will help entrepreneurs get these devices to market as quickly as possible so they can start helping people," says Dr. Jonathan McCullers, Vice President of Health and Dean of the UH Fertitta College of Medicine.

"We are doing novel things in terms of oxygenation of the brain, particularly in women, because the Rest Well Lab was funded by the National Institute on Aging to measure sleep health in women as they age since they are more predisposed for dementia and comorbid conditions like heart disease, stroke, and pain," says Dr. Stacey Gorniak, Professor of Motor Behavior at the University of Houston.

"The technology has been developed to be wearable in order to translate it from the lab or clinic directly into the real world, allowing us to investigate the brain in its natural environment like a classroom, home setting, or ambulatory setting," says Dr. Luca Polonini, Associate Professor of Engineering Technology at the University of Houston.

Why you should care:

The tools developed through the institute aim to step out of traditional clinics and make health tracking accessible at home, particularly for older adults, people living with chronic illnesses, and residents in rural Texas communities who face healthcare access barriers.

By the numbers:

More than 60 investigators at the university are already working on digital healthcare research as the new institute rolls out.

Dig deeper:

You can learn more about the initiative by visiting the University of Houston Health website.

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