(From left) University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham, University of Minnesota VP for Research and Innovation Shashank Priya, Medtronic SVP and Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Ken Washington and Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha [Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota]
Medtronic and the University of Minnesota said they want to rapidly advance discoveries from the lab and demonstrate life-saving innovations that can contribute to people’s health around the globe.
University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham, Medtronic Chair and CEO Geoff Martha, University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering Dean Andrew Alleyne, were on hand as Medtronic SVP and Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Ken Washington and University of Minnesota VP for Research and Innovation Shashank Priya signed the agreement last month.
The relationship between Medtronic and the University of Minnesota date back to the medtech giant’s founding in 1949. Earl Bakken, an electrical engineer educated in the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering, collaborated with University of Minnesota heart surgeon Dr. C. Walton Lillehei to create the first battery-powered, wearable pacemaker.
“Our new agreement builds on this long-standing collaboration by piloting a new pathway for Medtronic and University researchers to encourage and expedite the standup of joint research projects that will help solve society’s most pressing healthcare needs,” Washington said in a LinkedIn post.
Medtronic is the world’s largest medical device company, according to Medical Design & Outsourcing‘s Medtech Big 100 ranking by revenue. The company and the University of Minnesota want to pursue new and cutting-edge ideas for medical technologies. This effort aligns with the company’s mission of alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life. The partnership also aligns with Cunningham’s “Healthy Minnesota” initiative and the Minnesota MedTech 3.0 hub designed to accelerate the state’s leadership in the medtech industry.
“With this partnership, the University of Minnesota and Medtronic are reaffirming their shared commitment to improving quality of life through innovation,” Priya said in a news release. “By addressing critical challenges in medtech, such as medical robotics, AI, and sustainability, this collaboration builds on decades of joint achievements. It embodies the pioneering spirit that has defined our relationship since the company’s founding. And I know our research community is excited by the access they will have to a huge range of real life problems that our researchers can try to address through their creativity.”
In September, University of Minnesota researcher Brenda Ogle explained to Medical Design & Outsourcing readers how her lab collaborated with Medtronic on bionic testbeds for clinical-grade cardiac medical devices.
