The MEDRC was launched in May 2011 as a catalyst for the formation of a balanced eco-system of venture-funded start-ups and larger companies. Now a part of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES), it serves as a focal point for engagement with researchers across MIT, the medical device and microelectronics industry, venture-funded startups, and the Boston medical community.
Originated at the Microsystems Technology Laboratories Workshop on Next Generation Medical Electronic Systems, the MEDRC operates at the forefront of progress in translational medicine. The founding companies, Analog Devices Inc. and GE Global Research/Healthcare, sponsored four projects with six students supervised by four principal investigators. Today, the MEDRC has four member companies (ADI, Nihon Kohden, Philips Healthcare, and Novartis) funding approximately 10 projects, with 25 students/postdocs, and seven principal investigators with funding in excess of $2M annually.
Methodology
The unique research methodology of the MEDRC begins with the project definition. Research activities are jointly defined by faculty, physicians and clinicians, and industrial partners. Visiting scientists from microelectronic and medical device companies physically resident at the Center, provide the industrial viewpoint in the project definitions and participate in the realization of the technology. Prototype system architectures are developed that can be used in clinical tests early in the project to help guide the research technology being developed in parallel.
Leadership
The methodology and vision requires that the MEDRC draw on experience and expertise across the Institute in order to establish the collaborations critical to success. The MEDRC was founded and is led by Charlie Sodini, LeBel Professor of Electrical Engineering and member of both the Institute for Medical Engineering & Science and of the Microsystems Technology Laboratories; Brian W. Anthony, Director of the Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Program and member of the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity; and Joel Voldman, Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, and member of the Research Laboratory of Electronics and Microsystems Technology Laboratories.