FORT WAYNE – Pursuing new methods, ideas and products to enhance the delivery of high-quality services and move healthcare forward is at the heart of Parkview Health’s mission to deliver value for patients and improve the health of the communities it serves, according to a release from Parkview.
Through the Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation, the health system has been building innovation networks with start-up companies in the U.S. and abroad to bring great ideas to the fore.
Recently, Parkview leaders hosted Irish trade officials and representatives of 15 Irish medical technology companies, including NeuroBell. As a result of more than two years of groundwork, NeuroBell has partnered with Parkview Health to open the company’s first U.S. office at the Mirro Center, where it will launch its neonatal electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring technology in the American healthcare market.
The trip was orchestrated by Enterprise Ireland (EI), an arm of the Irish government that provides funding and support to help start-ups expand into the global marketplace. Over the past five years, Parkview has collaborated with several Irish start-ups and developed a strong partnership with EI. EI’s LifeSciences team organizes trips to connect companies with leading hospital systems and facilitate trade mission activities involving government ministers.
“As part of a week-long program of events marking St. Patrick’s Day in the U.S., we were thrilled to celebrate the collaboration between NeuroBell and one of Indiana’s leading healthcare systems, Parkview Health,” said Jennie Lynch, senior vice president, LifeSciences at Enterprise Ireland. “Enterprise Ireland is honored to support pioneering innovators such as [NeuroBell CEO and Co-founder] Mark O’Sullivan and partner with industry-leading healthcare executives such as Ethel Massing, MSHI, SHIMSS, [director of innovation and Parkview Strategic Enterprises] as they strive to improve and advance outcomes for patients across the U.S. healthcare sector.”
“This week has been a testament to the strength and potential of our long-term partnership with Enterprise Ireland,” said Rich Church, chief growth and strategy officer, Parkview Health. “The synergy between Parkview and NeuroBell, along with the collaborative spirit fostered by our relationship with other EI clients, has been truly inspiring. Meeting with the Irish Minister for Health further solidifies our joint commitment to innovation. We look forward to continuing to build upon these partnerships and drive impactful advancements in healthcare."
NeuroBell, of Cork, Ireland, applies the latest technology to drive better outcomes for newborns at risk for brain injury.
According to figures supplied by NeuroBell, 140 million babies are born each year across the world, and 2 million suffer brain injury during or after birth. Seizures occur in half of newborns with brain injury. Nearly two-thirds of seizures are silent.
To address these serious concerns, the company developed a portable, wireless device that monitors electronic impulses from an infant’s brain in real time to detect problems in brain activity using state-of-the-art electronics, artificial intelligence and signal processing. Set-up for the device is quick and uncomplicated. Alerts and EEG recordings are streamed to a hospital server for monitoring by NICU or OB staff, enabling quicker intervention if seizures are detected.
In fall 2022, NeuroBell won the Healthy Mom and Baby Innovation Competition 3.0, sponsored by Parkview and MATTER, a collaborative of 700-plus current and alumni start-ups from around the world, working with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to advance healthcare. The innovation competition challenged participants to improve access to care for underrepresented mothers and children, including solutions related to areas such as mental health, management of chronic conditions, substance abuse and preventive care. As the competition winner, NeuroBell earned the opportunity to begin collaborating on a pilot program with Parkview.
Since then, NeuroBell has worked with Parkview’s clinical research team to develop protocols for a study being launched this spring. They have trained and gathered feedback from EEG staff, worked to pass security requirements necessary to connect their devices to the Parkview network, and conducted preliminary testing with the simulation team on using the NeuroBell device during transport.
During the Enterprise Ireland visit, Parkview also held a ribbon-cutting to officially welcome NeuroBell to the start-up’s new office space at the Mirro Center on the Parkview Regional Medical Center (PRMC) campus.
“NeuroBell will be using that office as they continue to work with our clinical staff and research team on their study and move toward FDA approval,” said Massing. “We are also discussing additional projects and development we can do together, such as use of the device in our rural hospitals to help prevent the need to transport infants to PRMC for EEG testing.”
Fostering connections to innovate healthcare in the heartland
The visit to Parkview was in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland’s weeklong program of more than 30 business events across the U.S. as part of Ireland’s diplomatic mission to this country for St. Patrick’s Day.
According to EI, which now has seven U.S. office locations:
• Ireland is the world’s No. 1 investor in the USA on a per capita basis.
• The USA is the second largest country export market for Enterprise Ireland-backed companies.
• Major Irish employers and manufacturers in the USA have significant investments in the USA with plans for further expansion and investment.
EI chose the Midwest for a visit this year in conjunction with the annual AIMS Summit, a transatlantic forum for physicians, entrepreneurs and industry leaders aspiring to drive healthcare innovation, held in Chicago for 2025. Parkview was selected as one of three hosts for EI’s visit, along with Rush University System for Health and Northwestern Medicine/Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
In conjunction with the summit, Parkview’s Massing and NeuroBell’s O’Sullivan met with Irish Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, along with EI leaders, to celebrate their collaboration.