Commercial Research

Commercial Research is for companies wishing to engage in industrial collaborations with the CII for the study of heart devices.  The CII will develop the protocol, obtain necessary regulatory approvals and manage the study.

Early Stage Research and Development

Early Stage Research and Development focuses on improving patient care and providing more effective treatments for heart disease. In many cases, the treatments and technologies developed can reduce medical cost, by reducing the need for surgery or the time spent in hospital. This research and development improves over-all health, reduces health care costs, creates jobs and establishes a platform for improvements in other diseases.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property is currently being developed on-site at the CII.  Discovery, innovation and the transfer of information to the public sector is a major responsibility and challenge of a modern research university. Through the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), the University strives to disseminate the knowledge developed by the School of Engineering Department of Biology faculty, staff, other employees and students within for the public good. 

OTT provides resources to help take ideas from the mind to the marketplace, including assistance with intellectual property and research tools, promotion of economic development and expertise in the areas of technology transfer and start-up business resources.  UofL also encourages the active engagement of our faculty in this process, which provides one of the most generous revenue sharing provisions of an intellectual property policy in the nation.  Fifty percent of revenues stemming from intellectual property generated at the university are allocated to the inventor.

The Preclinical Laboratories

The Preclinical Laboratories at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute boasts the only facility in the region devoted to large animal cardiovascular research, and has the most advanced imaging technologies.  Very few laboratories in the world can conduct large animal clinical trials on a similar scale with regard to the number of procedures completed and the Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) capabilities.  Large animal clinical trials are essential, as cardiac devices cannot be downsized and must be tested in an animal model with a heart size and cardiovascular physiology similar to that found in humans.

Under expert supervision, hundreds of surgical implantation procedures have been performed.  The animals are seen through the post-operative stage, which is in contrast to most facilities where surgery and post-operative care can be conducted by several different teams.  This allows the CII to provide a continuum of care and notice even the slightest changes in the animal or device. The animal research paves the way for the human trials.