GETTING INNOVATION INTO PRACTICE

The 2022 recipient of the Techno-College Innovation Award was recognised for taking an innovative approach to improving treatment for patients in need of mechanical circulatory support (MCS). Francesco Pollari developed the MIC Cannula, an intravascular cannula for arterial perfusion of the human body which allows a more natural and physiological arterial perfusion of patients needing MCS, whilst reducing invasiveness at the same time.

The exposure and endorsement provided by the TechnoCollege Innovation Award has been invaluable to past winners. In 2021, Hazem Fallouh, a thoracic surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham, was recognised for his innovative pericardial device to monitor cardiac output and diagnose tamponade in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Over the past 12 months he has been working with the University Hospitals Birmingham and Professor Tom Clutton-Brock, MBE, a retired cardiac anaesthetist and a medical device expert from his work with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, to build the prototype and he is also collaborating with the University of Sheffield to perform the necessary trials.

“ I am delighted to win the Techno-College Innovation Award. There is no better platform to showcase this device and seek opportunities to collaborate and partner with medical professionals and industry representatives. I am confident that the MIC Cannula has the potential to improve treatment for patients and I look forward to progressing this innovation further.”