The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell successfully concluded its inaugural Medical Innovation Symposium on Saturday, Jan. 6, at the medical school on the Hofstra University campus.

The symposium showcased groundbreaking technologies and medical advances implemented by physicians and researchers across various medical specialties to enhance patient care and outcomes.

The school’s first-ever conference dedicated to medical innovation was spearheaded by members of the student body with help from the school’s faculty and staff. David L. Battinelli, dean and Betsey Cushing Whitney Professor of Medicine, applauded the conference organizers and encouraged students to continue to innovate and solve problems.

“Innovation is a discipline – every time you look at an aspect of medicine and healthcare, you should ask yourself, is there a better way to do that,” said Battinelli, executive vice president and physician-in-chief of Northwell Health. “When we developed the medical school curriculum in 2008, we had our eyes on the year 2020; people thought that was too far in the future, but here we are now, and now we’re thinking about medical education in the year 2035 and beyond. Innovation is not immediate; it takes time, but innovators are always thinking about the future and asking, what if you could?”

The symposium was well attended by medical students, faculty, physicians, scientists, and medical innovators, exceeding the expectations of the organizers, including Eusha Hasan, Aleksandra Qilleri, Swara Kalva, and Brian Li, who are second-year medical students passionate about sharing their interest in medical technology with others in healthcare.

“The conference is a unique opportunity for medical professionals, researchers, and students to come together to preview research and get a glimpse of emerging cutting-edge innovations that can transform patient care, ” stated Eusha Hasan.

Presentations by distinguished speakers provided valuable insights into how advanced medical practices are being tested and used to improve the quality of care and enhance the quality of life for patients.

Many medical advances and emerging technologies involve Artificial Intelligence, which applies computer intelligence to problem-solve and perform tasks.

Scientists with the Neural Bypass and BCI Lab at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, are studying the integration of AI and bioelectronics, a new medical field that uses electrical pulses rather than drugs to treat disease.

The research team, led by Chad Bouton, a professor at the Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, and professor of Molecular Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine, developed and is testing a technology called the Double Neural Bypass that enables patients with paralysis to regain mobility and restore their sense of touch.

Team member Santosh Chandrasekaran, presented the lab’s groundbreaking technology to conference attendees.

“We are happy to present our research today because it’s important for medical students to be exposed to multiple ideas, not in their core field of learning,” explained Chandrasekaran, who has been a member of the BCI Lab team for nearly 5 years. “For projects like the Double Neural Bypass, we need the cross-pollination of ideas from people in different disciplines – we have neurologists, scientists, neural engineers, and others in our lab, and not everyone is an expert on everything, so it brings out new ideas that are not tied to any one field.”

In addition to improving quality of life for patients, new technologies are breaking down barriers to quality healthcare by expanding accessibility, communication, education, and advocacy for patients.

Conference presenter Dr. David Langer, chair of neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital and vice president of Neurosurgery for the Western Region of Northwell Health, introduced a smartphone app he helped develop called Playback Health.

The app uses AI and speech-to-text technology to document, in real-time, doctor/patient conversations, care recommendations, and other vital information that patients often have trouble remembering, especially when they are ill or presented with a stressful diagnosis.

Playback Health is used at Northwell Health, New York State’s largest healthcare provider. The app bolsters the current electronic medical record, which is inputted by hand.

“This technology allows patients to revisit their medical information, whether it be a document, video, audio, speech or text, and share it with others,” explained Langer, a professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology at the Zucker School of Medicine. “It’s a different way of generating a medical record. It’s a   much more accurate and valuable history, and we are changing the way medical records are created and consumed.”

Innovations presented at the conference cross the spectrum of medical care and address several issues, including health disparities. One such application called Maternal Outcomes and Morbidity Collaborative or MOMS, uses advanced chat-bot technology to ensure comprehensive and personalized care for mothers and helps educate them about potential pregnancy.

“Empowerment of patients is an incredibly important application of medical technology,” said conference organizer Swara Kalva. “Enabling patients to take control of their own health and advocate for themselves can help improve health outcomes and lower the burden on the healthcare system.”

Another hot topic during the conference was wearable technologies that can provide the wearer with important health metrics, including heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and temperature.

Wearables are also being used to measure physician skills.

Dr. Gary Deutsch, chief of Surgical Oncology at South Shore University Hospital, and Dr. Hardik Patel, a fourth-year general surgery resident at Staten Island University Hospital, discussed their research on wearable technology, used to assess surgeon performance.

This innovative approach aims to measure the quality of a surgeon’s hand movements and operative skills, potentially revolutionizing the evaluation of surgical procedures.

The day-long symposium also provided attendees with networking opportunities promoting collaboration and the exchange of ideas.

“Advances in the medical field are constantly being made, and fortunately, many of them are here in our own backyard,” said Aleksandra Qilleri, a member of the conference organizing committee. “By inviting clinician-innovators to share their work with medical students, we aim to bridge the gap between undergraduate medical education and the greater healthcare system. We hope students will be inspired by our speakers to look for new ways to improve patient care as they move through their training. Someday, they too may be one of the next biggest changemakers in medicine.”