The Institute for Health Technology Studies (InHealth), Washington, has awarded three new research grants totaling more than $1.4 million to investigators at the University of Southern California, Northwestern University, and Stanford University. The funding will support three separate studies that will examine the social and economic impact of therapeutic medical devices, as well as the device innovation process.

The grants support InHealth’s research mission to develop objective data and add perspective to understanding the impact of medical technologies on patients, healthcare professionals, and the healthcare sector at large. Researchers will examine how medical technologies such as continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps affect diabetic patients’ quality of life and productivity; how to measure the effectiveness of medical technologies used to treat chronic wounds; and the roles of clinicians in the innovation process for medical technologies.

 “Examining the innovation process from beginning to end—from the roles of clinicians in developing new products to the technology’s long-term effects—gives physicians and policymakers the knowledge and evidence they need to make the best-informed decisions for patients and the public,” says Martyn Howgill, executive director of InHealth.  “It also feeds information back into the innovation process, allowing for the development of even more effective medical technology.”

This is the fourth set of grants awarded by InHealth since it began funding research in 2005. To date, InHealth has allocated more than $8 million toward research grants to Duke University, Harvard/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University, Medical College of Georgia, Northwestern University, Stanford University, Tufts University, University of Houston, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Southern California. Findings from InHealth-funded research include:

• Among elderly patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure, there is a 38% average improvement in mortality rate for those who receive implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) that monitor the heart and deliver a lifesaving shock when needed. (University of Pennsylvania)

• Among elderly patients with osteoarthritis, those who receive total hip or knee replacements show significant improvements in physical functioning and increased ability to care for themselves. The procedures offer benefits to patients at any age, and cost less than long-term healthcare for the disabled. (Duke University)

• Patients with continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps manage their diabetes better, with greater adherence to regimens and less daily pain, than those using conventional fingerstick monitors and daily injections. But research shows the newer methods aren’t widely used because physicians may be reluctant to prescribe them, and patients using them may not be deriving their full benefits. (Duke University)

• Cardiac patients treated with drug-eluting stents rather than bare-metal stents enjoy a 2% lower rate of mortality and require fewer repeat procedures. While initial costs for using drug-eluting stents are higher, they break even with the costs for bare-metal stents after one year. (University of Pennsylvania)