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VA Research Center-developed technology is first used commercially in patient at Cleveland Clinic

The Glean Urodynamics System insertable bladder sensor
The Glean Urodynamics System insertable bladder sensor developed by VA researchers in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University.

By Michael E. Compeau, Public Affairs Specialist

A unique wireless, catheter-free, insertable bladder pressure sensor developed within the Advanced Platform Technology Center (APTC) within Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center was used in bladder care for its first patient at Cleveland Clinic in early June.

The medical device, known as the Glean Urodynamics System, was developed in cooperation with Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, with research led by VA research investigators Steve Majerus, Ph.D., and Margot Damaser, Ph.D. The patented device, commercialized by California-based and Veteran-owned firm Bright Uro, earned its 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March.

“After observing standard urodynamic testing over the past 20 years, our vision for this device was to address the shortcomings in current bladder testing,” said Damaser, leader of the VA APTC research team and a staff member in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Cleveland Clinic. “We wanted to invent a novel solution that would take the monitoring out of an artificial setting and eliminate the need for a catheter, which can be painful and embarrassing.”

Damaser and Majerus and early collaborator, Steven Garverick, Ph.D., received their initial seed funding for this project 20 years ago as one of the first awardees of the APTC Pilot Funding Program. The APTC Pilot Funding Program, now named the Steven Garverick Innovation Incentive Program in honor of the late Garverick and his many contributions to the center, has provided seed funding for more than 30 VA APTC pilot projects in the anticipation that they also will lead to similar successful solutions.

Moving a project like the bladder sensor completely through the technology translation pathway into commercial production and a beneficial real-life application for patient use is the goal of research performed at the APTC. This type of long-term research results in benefits not only for Veterans, but for improving health care for all patients across the country, and potentially worldwide.