Blugolds rise to challenge with healthcare innovations

Seven groups of students worked with UW-Eau Claire faculty and Mayo Clinic Health System mentors during the 2024-25 academic year on healthcare problems that included product development, process improvement and artificial intelligence integration.

The resources provided through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Workforce Innovation Grant allowed students to experience the entire process of prototype development from understanding the customer experience to ideation and prototyping, says Dr. Michael Carney, interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

“Just as importantly, the teams were able to take seven clinical ideas — ideas that would otherwise sit idle — and take the first step toward generating intellectual property and turning the ideas into reality,” Carney says, adding that the success of this year’s challenge means the innovation events will continue in the future.

The Innovation Health Challenge is an excellent example of the power of collaboration between UW-Eau Claire and Mayo Clinic Health System, says Dr. Carmen Manning, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences and co-primary investigator for the WEDC grant.

“We brought together clinicians and staff from Mayo Clinic Health System, UW-Eau Claire faculty and our students, and the results were extraordinary,” Manning says. “Each participant in this collaboration learned and grew through the process.”

Dr. Ron Thacker, Entrepreneurial Education Program coordinator at Mayo Clinic Health System-Eau Claire, was impressed with how Blugolds rose to the challenges presented to the innovation teams.

“Their creativity, dedication and problem-solving skills really shone through, producing some outstanding results,” Thacker says. “They put in a lot of effort and thought, and it was exciting to see them throughout the process.”

The challenge taught Ian Nie, a first-year student from Burlington and a Biomedical Innovator Scholar, to value his time as he balanced the project with his studies and another research project.

“I was in awe that physicians and administrators cared about what we had to say and they valued our outlook on specific issues in the medical field,” says Nie, a biochemistry/molecular biology major and computer science minor. “It was a great experience, a little stressful at times, but really rewarding and impactful for my future.”

Following is a sampling of the projects:

Primary care staffing solutions

Nie’s team was mentored by Dr. Rahul Gomes, associate professor of computer science, to address prescription refill challenges for routine medication in primary care settings. Doctors and nurses have to manually check patient records and verify medication histories for managing chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, which is time consuming and leads to inefficiencies and increases chances for error.

Gomes’ team developed artificial intelligence solutions to automate the routine tasks and reduce the administrative burden on clinical staff. The AI solution improved overall efficiency and contributed to better patient outcomes.

“We had students from several disciplines working together to not only develop the model but also identify security risks associated with the proposed approach, legal and ethical considerations, and analyzing the clinical operational impact of this research,” Gomes says.

Team member and first-year student Mykle Buhrow of Chippewa Falls says she learned that it takes a team with different skills and perspectives to solve a problem.

“I learned the importance of perseverance — things don’t always go as planned, and setbacks are inevitable,” says Buhrow, a double major in computer science and AI, and a Biomedical Innovator Scholar. “Working through these challenges taught me how to go with the flow and adapt to unexpected situations.”

After receiving positive feedback from judges, participants and clinicians, the group intends to complete the project with support from the UW-Eau Claire-Mayo Clinic Research Innovation Council.

Fascia closure device development

Kyle Doppler, a fourth-year student from Rochester, Minnesota, was part of a six-member team that developed a surgical instrument design to reduce fascial tearing caused by tools surgeons use during closure. Fascial tears can lead to complications that include hernias and infections.

The team incorporated key features from existing devices with innovative design to improve the instrument.

“This group really impressed me with their efforts,” says Thacker, who mentored the team. “They created a plan and strategy for creating a solution, pivoted when faced with challenges and came up with a solution that one of the judges commented on having real potential.”

Doppler’s team came from a variety of academic disciplines, including his major of health care administration in public health, and others from areas like biomedical engineering and biology. The diversity of the team allowed student researchers to combine their unique academic skill sets and apply them to real-world problems faced by healthcare professionals, Doppler says.

“This is an experience that reinforces my passion for driving innovation in healthcare,” Doppler says. “Working on a real-world surgical problem alongside my teammates and experts was truly amazing. We are excited to continue advancing this project and making a meaningful impact on patient outcomes.”

Wheelchair management

Faculty mentors Dr. Ozgur Kabadurmus, assistant professor of marketing and supply chain management, and Dr. Frances Hawes, assistant professor of health care administration, worked with a team to find a solution to misplaced or lost wheelchairs at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Wheelchairs that are taken outside for patient transitions, such as to clinics or nursing homes, are difficult to track and staff also spend significant time searching for wheelchairs inside medical facilities.

“Our group’s diverse backgrounds helped us effectively tackle the challenges of indoor and outdoor tracking,” Kabadurmus says. “Dr. Hawes’ knowledge in hospital operations and processes helped us understand the problem better. As the two faculty members on the project, our shared experience in quality management kept us focused on our goals and helped us make practical improvements.”

Sara Lacoursiere, a third-year health care administration major from Wisconsin Rapids, called the challenge “an incredible opportunity” to collaborate with professionals to solve real-world problems in healthcare.

“Throughout this challenge I gained a deeper understanding of how much effort goes into the improvement process and how many people are involved in finding a solution,” Lacoursiere says.