The OrthoChallenge Submit your idea The sponsors
Share the Website with your orthopedic friends – https://forsuchatimeasthisortho.com/
PRESS RELEASE 31/MARCH/2020
Raymond Cloutier, CEO NovApproach Spine, Announces
For Such a Time as This – OrthoChallenge
DUE to COVID-19, many in the orthopedic community (surgeons, nurses, physical therapists, sales and industry) have experienced a sudden cancellation of scheduled hip, knee, shoulder, extremity and spine surgeries and PT sessions. As a result, patients will be forced to endure their pain and limited mobility for an indefinite amount of time. Top leaders are calling on our orthopedic community to step up and ‘pay it forward’ by creating a catalyst for a new kind of innovation.
This catalyst is: For Such A Time As This – OrthoChallenge.
As CEO of NovApproach Spine, I am sponsoring the For Such A Time As This – OrthoChallenge which asks members of the global orthopedic community to submit product, software, and service ideas that will meet the emerging needs of orthopedic patients in this COVID-19 environment and provide pain and function-alleviating support.
I am assembling a team of experts to select and present to the FDA, the 10 most beneficial and practical OrthoChallenge submissions. Our team will ask the FDA and other government leaders to help ‘fast-track’ these innovations.
Submitters and/or their company will retain ownership of inventions and development responsibility. For Such a Time as This – OrthoChallenge will foster innovation, provide recognition and awareness with the hope that this accelerates the innovator’s idea to benefit patients sooner.
Submissions for a new product, software or service should explain the Problem, the Solution, and the Reason your idea meets at least one of the following criteria that will help orthopedic patients:
o Address or assist with their musculoskeletal limitations while they wait for their procedure to be done.
o Reduce the chance their musculoskeletal issues will put them at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.
o Minimize the risk their orthopedic condition will affect morbidity or mortality if they contract COVID-19.
Because of the urgent patient need, For Such a Time as This – OrthoChallenge is calling for all submissions to be received digitally at www.ForSuchaTimeAsThisOrtho.com by April 30, 2020. Organizers of the OrthoChallenge will announce the winning proposals in May.
Co-sponsor, Joseph Zuckerman, MD, Chair, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, NYU Langone Health; Past President, AAOS. says: “There are so many patients with orthopedic problems who will have their surgery delayed for an unknown amount of time and will continue to suffer from the pain and disability of their underlying condition. This is an opportunity for us to develop measures to mitigate the symptoms until we are able to freely provide the care that our patients need.”
According to Dr. Zuckerman, his hospital (NYU Langone Health) typically performs 2,000 orthopedic procedures per month. He estimates over 90% of these procedures are elective. With thousands of hospitals across the globe, the number of suffering patients is “extraordinary and profound”.
Co-sponsor, Dawn Lissy, CEO/Founder Empirical Technologies Corp., states that “many members of our community are working tirelessly on ‘the front lines’. Some may also be suffering from the disease. This is an opportunity to shine for our colleagues, co-workers and for the patients we serve.”
According to Cloutier: “Healthcare providers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, are demonstrating this truth: ‘greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends‘. The orthopedic community exists to support patients. Innovators can do our part by way of the OrthoChallenge.
As the world faces this pandemic crisis, we are calling on our colleagues to innovate and transform the care we provide orthopedic patients. We can create wholly new treatment modalities, products and services that will benefit orthopedic patients and surgeons and spark new growth opportunities for the orthopedic industry. Albert Einstein said: ’In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.’ As you choose whether, or not, to expend the effort to make a submission, consider……………………………….’For such a time as this’.”
For more information, contact Raymond Cloutier, CEO/Founder NovApproach Spine
raymond@novapproachspine.com