Example: Physicians who are on call—meaning, literally, positioned to provide care and direction via telephone—invariably must respond to patients they’ve never met. The information at hand may be the patient’s own description of symptoms and perhaps the data contained in an EMR. How should such a data set be presented to the doctor to maximize the speed and effectiveness of care?

A team of Georgia Tech College of Computing graduate students recently accepted that challenge—and delivered in a big way. Calling themselves the Georgia Tech Flatliners, the group finished first, second and third at the CONNECT Code-a-Thon Challenge, held April 28-29 in Miami.

“New ideas and new approaches for health care information technology are among the most critical challenges facing the United States today,” said Stephen Fleming, Georgia Tech vice president and executive director of the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute. “Georgia Tech’s understanding of information technology and its knowledge of the health care industry provide a unique perspective on this challenge. The success of these students demonstrates that Georgia Tech can play an important role in addressing critical needs in this area.”

The Code-a-Thon asked teams to create innovative stylesheets to display the information in a continuity of care document (CCD) to a primary care physician taking calls from patients after office hours. The idea is to develop a CCD visualization tool that facilitates an efficient and effective phone consultation between the on-call doctor and an unfamiliar patient. Not only did the solutions have to transfer data error-free, but the graphic user interface had to translate across multiple platforms (mobile phone, netbook, full-size screen, etc.) and allow for the most efficient use of the physician’s time.

The GT Flatliners, consisting of computer science Ph.D. student Klara Benda and master’s students Adrian Courreges, Monosij Dutta-Roy and Hassan Khan, presented three solutions: a problem-based approach, a rapid-information-access approach and a multi-context approach. The three solutions finished No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the contest—which was not limited to just students. The Flatliners also competed against working professionals in health IT. Here’s what they came up with:

• Problem Oriented Approach (winner): arranged the clinical data by problem so that the physician could hone in on relevant information to the particular problem the patient is presenting.
• Multi-Context Approach (second place): provided a highly flexible visual display that allows the physician to arrange information according to his or her particular “mental model” for handling a particular problem.
• Rapid Access Approach (third place): provided quick and easy navigation among all of the clinical areas in which data is stored in the CCD.

The College of Computing, together with colleagues across Georgia Tech, is making a big push into the grand challenge of health IT. In 2004 President George W. Bush signed an executive order calling for the creation of a national health information infrastructure; by 2015, all Americans will have a digital CCD. Thus solutions like those provided by the College of Computing team will be critical to maximizing the efficiency of those records. Indeed, all three Flatliner solutions are now available for free download and use through Open Health Tools (OHT), an open source community for health IT.

“If the country is going to make full use of technology in improving the efficiency of our health care system—and getting a handle on the enormous costs it currently demands—it’s going to take the effort and ingenuity of everyone in the health IT community,” said Professor Mark Braunstein, who taught the health informatics class in which the Flatliner team was enrolled. “I’m tremendously proud of our students for coming up with such innovative solutions to this problem, and I’m thankful to the people and organizations we’ve partnered with to bring these solutions into the open source community.”

Sponsored by the National Health Information Network, the Code-a-Thon Challenge was hosted by Florida International University, OHT and the American Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network. For more information, visit the contest’s website: http://hit.fiu.edu/challenge.htm

Media Relations Contacts: Stefany Sanders (404-312-6620); E-mail: (stefany@cc.gatech.edu) or Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu).

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The SimCraft APEX racing simulator is visible on the left side of Tony Stark's workshop/garage (Prologue Films VFX for Marvel Studios).

The SimCraft APEX racing simulator is featured prominently in the Iron Man 2 film, along with a number of unique cars and a folding wing aircraft. SimCraft produces a low-cost, military-grade, full-motion simulator that provides a simulated G-force for SimRacing and FlightSim at home. The system features a patent-pending chassis that rotates around three degrees of freedom. At its most advanced setup, the system allows the cockpit’s occupant to yaw up to 50 degrees to the left and right, pitch up to 30 degrees fore and aft, and roll up to 50 degrees port and starboard.

“The simulator shows up in three scenes, and in one scene in particular it takes up almost half the screen,” said Sean Patrick MacDonald, SimCraft’s co-founder. “The property master of the film, Russell Bobbitt, asked if they could have Tony Stark use the simulator as a prop and mark it as a Stark Industries creation. My response? Absolutely!”

Iron Man 2 marks a measure of success for an innovator’s son who is, like Stark, carrying on with his late father’s cutting-edge technology company. SimCraft was originally a retirement business for MacDonald’s father William; however, after his death in early 2002, Sean Patrick decided to expand upon his father’s mission. That expansion has brought SimCraft to its present day growth and cameo appearance in the film.

In this sequel to the blockbuster film based on the legendary Marvel superhero, the world is now aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is the armored Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. However, he doesn’t let these concerns stop him from racing at Monaco, where he confronts this fear in the form of evil genius Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) armed with energy whips.

In anticipation of the premiere, SimCraft hosted a simulated racing event with those who helped make the film possible. The SimCraft APEX shows up in the background and foreground of the workshop scenes in the movie.

About SimCraft:

SimCraft’s core innovation and technology is the simulation of vehicle movement. The company’s proprietary software and patent pending hardware provide realistic, zero latency motion™ for racing and flight simulation. This high performance system provides an unparalleled virtual environment from training applications by honing technical skills and experimentation with vehicle setups to the ultimate in pure entertainment. For more information about SimCraft’s advanced motion technology, visit http://www.SimCraft.com.

About the ATDC:

The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a startup accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Founded in 1980, ATDC has helped create millions of dollars in tax revenues by graduating more than 120 companies, which together have raised more than a billion dollars in outside financing. ATDC has provided business incubation and acceleration services to hundreds of Georgia startups – most of which are not based on Georgia Tech research, but which benefit from the close proximity to the university.

Recently ATDC expanded its mission by merging with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georgia Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Assistance Program.  This change has enabled ATDC to greatly extend its reach to serve more technology companies along multiple growth paths and at all stages of development.  ATDC has opened its membership to all technology entrepreneurs in Georgia, from those at the earliest conception stage to the well-established, venture-fundable companies.

ATDC is part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²) at Georgia Tech, which helps Georgia enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation.  ATDC currently has three facilities; two at Georgia Tech’s main campus in Atlanta, and one at Georgia Tech’s satellite campus in Savannah.

Research News & Publications Office
Enterprise Innovation Institute
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314
Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

Media Relations Contacts: Michael Boardman (877-746-2723); e-mail: (pr@simcraft.com) or Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509); e-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu).

Writer: Nancy Fullbright

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The county is being studied by Georgia Tech for the Regional Data Mapping Pilot Project. The goal of the project is to gauge the needs of the county to see how the organizations could better serve the residents.

Cherokee is one of four counties being studied along with Butts, Clayton and Rockdale. The counties were selected based on their wide range of demographic, cultural and economic characteristics. The organizations involved with the project are the Annie Casey Foundation, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Families First, Kaiser Permanente, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.

Associate Project Manager Jason Chernock of Georgia Tech EI2 said interviews are being set up with county leaders to get their input.

“It will help our clients understand what gaps in service there are so they can make investments,” he said. He hopes to have all surveys collected and interviews completed within the next few weeks.

To read the full article, click here.

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“A lot of people don’t realize how much of an animal health presence we have here in Georgia,” said Charles Craig, president of Georgia Bio, a nonprofit that promotes the bio-tech industry. The announcement “is just another example of Georgia’s attractiveness as a destination for bio-science industry development.”

The state’s life-science industry – bio-engineered medicines, foods, fuels and agricultural products — produces an annual economic impact of $16 billion, according to the Selig Center at the University of Georgia. More than 60,000 people, either directly or indirectly, work in the industry.

The University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Emory and other universities, as well as the Centers for Disease Control, perform ground-breaking bio-tech research. The U.S. Department of Agriculture runs a research center in Athens.

To read the entire article, click here.

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Watch the interview here.

For more information about the Showcase, click here.

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Sean Leroux, plant manager for Kason Industries in Newnan, Ga., believes in learning by doing. When he and Skipper Schofield, continuous improvement manager for Kason, had the opportunity to get involved with the Georgia Tech Lean Consortium – a forum for organizations to advance their knowledge and effective use of lean principles – they didn’t merely sit in on meetings and take notes. They took the ball and ran with it.

“In going through different factories and facilities, we were able to learn new ideas and then try to expand on them within our own facility,” said Schofield. “If we can bring back one good idea from each event, then we’ve been successful.”

As part of the Consortium, member company representatives rotate hosting the group at their facilities, where they present their vision for lean and the challenges and successes to date. After a plant tour, the group provides feedback to identify areas of success, as well as opportunities for further improvement. Members are also offered exclusive training classes in areas that they help to select.

Leroux and Schofield learned about reducing die changeover time inventory control from Newnan-based Bonnell, an aluminum extrusion manufacturer. They were particularly impressed with the 6S program of E.G.O., a local manufacturer of heating elements, as well as the way the company’s equipment was color-coded and labeled. The 6S program derives from 5S, the method of workplace organizations and visual controls developed by Hiroyuki Hirano, which translates into sort, stabilize, shine, standardize and sustain. Many companies add a sixth S, safety, to eliminate hazards and embed safe conditions into all work environments.

“E.G.O. had a great training program in 6S, and Earl Smith and Dave Perry, both E.G.O. engineers, led a group of 16 people here at Kason, most of them managers,” Leroux recalled. “We did a spin-off of that and then trained our entire factory in that methodology.”

Schofield also received invaluable assistance from Bonnell when it came to learning about implementing ISO 9001, a set of standards for quality management systems. Bill Tucker, quality and process manager for Bonnell, invited Schofield into the company’s facility to see how it approached the standard.

“The nice thing about Bonnell is we have similar processes, so there’s no sense in recreating the wheel,” observed Schofield. “I was actually able to tag along with the quality auditor at Bonnell during their six-month audit and ask whatever questions I wanted. It was a unique experience to see things from the auditor’s perspective.”

According to Larry Alford, director of the Georgia Tech Lean Consortium, the working relationship between Kason, E.G.O. and Bonnell demonstrates the best of what the Consortium can offer.

“What these guys have done is really special. They’ve taken it beyond just seeing each other at the meetings and translated it into how they can genuinely help each other,” he said. “I am overwhelmed by one company’s willingness to come to another company and teach a course.”

Organizations from any economic sector – including manufacturing, service, government or health care – are welcome in the Georgia Tech Lean Consortium if they have a vision for lean within their organizations, a strategy and commitment to its implementation and successful experiences to share with the consortium.

Lean principles are a set of tools widely used in manufacturing to help identify and steadily eliminate waste from an organization’s operations. Already, 11 south metro Atlanta companies, six Augusta area companies and seven northwest Georgia companies are participating in the Lean Consortium through shared training and peer-to-peer relationships.

To learn more about the Georgia Tech Lean Consortium, please contact Larry Alford (404-895-5237); E-mail (larry.alford@innovate.gatech.edu) or visit www.gtlean.org.

Photo caption: Earl Smith of E.G.O., Sean Leroux of Kason, Bill Tucker of Bonnell, Larry Alford of Georgia Tech EI2, Skipper Schofield of Kason, and Dave Perry of E.G.O., all shared continuous improvement ideas as part of Georgia Tech’s Lean Consortium.

About Enterprise Innovation Institute:

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.

Research News & Publications Office

Enterprise Innovation Institute

Georgia Institute of Technology

75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314

Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

Media Relations Contacts: Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).

Writer: Nancy Fullbright

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Khush was founded in May 2009 as one of Shotput Ventures’ first class of eight companies. It raised a total so far of about $129,000 from a Shotput seed investment, a grant from Georgia Tech’s VentureLab , and an angel investment from Rackspace executive Pat Matthews.

To read the entire article, click here.

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The entry followed Chu’s visit to the Georgia Institute of Technology, where Suniva’s technology was developed.

The company, which designs, manufactures and markets advanced solar energy cells, is the brainchild of Ajeet Rohatgi, director of the University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education at Georgia Tech. Suniva is a graduate member of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a start-up accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. ATDC is part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) at Georgia Tech, which helps Georgia enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation.  ATDC currently has three facilities; two at Georgia Tech’s main campus in Atlanta, and one at Georgia Tech’s satellite campus in Savannah.

To read Secretary Chu’s full blog entry, click here.

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“We are proud of this group of startup companies and the level of success they have achieved; they are representative of the types of companies that have been successful during the first 30 years of our existence,” said Stephen Fleming, vice president and director of the ATDC. “As we open our doors to a larger number of quality entrepreneurs and startup companies, we believe that the number of companies that we can assist will grow.”

Each year ATDC member companies that have attained rigorous growth milestones are selected to graduate from the startup incubator. The 2010 graduating companies are:

* CommerceV3, a provider of an order-management system that allows users to create, launch and grow customized web storefronts;

* Endgame Systems, an organization of highly-skilled information security veterans providing advanced vulnerability research programs and next-generation security solutions;

* Izenda, a company that delivers a fully-integrable add-on to software developers that gives end users the ability to create and customize reports; and

* PureWire, a web security software-as-a-service vendor that secures business and social interactions on the web.

For more information about the Showcase or to RSVP, please contact Melissa Zbeeb at melissa.zbeeb@atdc.org or visit www.atdc.org/showcase. The cost of the event is $10 per person.

About the ATDC:

The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a startup accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Founded in 1980, ATDC has helped create millions of dollars in tax revenues by graduating more than 120 companies, which together have raised more than a billion dollars in outside financing. ATDC has provided business incubation and acceleration services to hundreds of Georgia startups – most of which are not based on Georgia Tech research, but which benefit from the close proximity to the university.

Recently ATDC expanded its mission by merging with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georgia Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Assistance Program. This change has enabled ATDC to greatly extend its reach to serve more technology companies along multiple growth paths and at all stages of development. ATDC has opened its membership to all technology entrepreneurs in Georgia, from those at the earliest conception stage to the well-established, venture-fundable companies.

ATDC is part of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) at Georgia Tech, which helps Georgia enterprises improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. ATDC currently has three facilities; two at Georgia Tech’s main campus in Atlanta, and one at Georgia Tech’s satellite campus in Savannah.

Research News & Publications Office

Enterprise Innovation Institute

Georgia Institute of Technology

75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314

Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

Media Relations Contacts: Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).

Writer: Nancy Fullbright

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Forbes Magazine has named ATDC to its new list of the “ten technology incubators that are changing the world.”

Forbes Magazine has named Georgia Tech’s science and technology startup accelerator, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), to its new list of the “ten technology incubators that are changing the world.”  ATDC is the only incubator in the Southeast to be included on the Forbes list.

In its brief description of ATDC, Forbes noted that the program has graduated more than 120 companies since 1980 and that companies associated with ATDC have collectively raised more than $1 billion in outside financing.  “The companies are heavy with Georgia Tech alumni,” the magazine noted, “but that’s not a requirement.”

According to Forbes, the United States has more than 300 incubators that host approximately 6,000 companies.  Many of them associated with universities, the incubators provide a broad range of support, from shared laboratory equipment to accounting and secretarial support, the magazine said.

Incubators like the ATDC, Forbes added, “are increasingly drawing intellectual capital from around the world.”  The magazine said it worked with CB Insights, a New York firm that tracks private-company funding trends – including venture capital private equity and government-backed deals – to select 10 “especially crackling innovation hubs.”

Forbes is the third leading U.S business publication to cite ATDC’s record of success in helping Georgia entrepreneurs.  Inc. Magazine and BusinessWeek had earlier included ATDC on their lists of leading incubators.

Part of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, the ATDC now has more than 300 companies in its program.  ATDC helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies.  As part of its incubation and acceleration services, ATDC helps Georgia Tech faculty members and researchers form new companies based on intellectual property developed in the Institute’s $500 million-per-year research program.  ATDC also helps companies compete for and win federal grants through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

“Startups play an essential role in creating new jobs and growing the economy,” noted Stephen Fleming, Georgia Tech vice provost and executive director of the Enterprise Innovation Institute.  “We are proud of the many companies that have emerged from ATDC – and those currently in our program that are Georgia’s technology leaders of the future.”

On May 24^th, ATDC will celebrate its 30^th anniversary at its annual startup showcase and celebration.  That makes the Forbes honor especially timely, Fleming noted.

“As ATDC prepares to celebrate its 30^th anniversary, this recognition demonstrates that it remains relevant and important to the entrepreneur community in Georgia,” he said.  “As we enjoy this attention, we thank those who have supported ATDC over many years: the Georgia General Assembly, the Georgia Research Alliance, the Georgia Tech administration and all of the volunteers who have shared their time and expertise with companies.  Becoming one of the top programs in the world required long-term investment by many people and organizations.”

Other incubator programs cited in the Forbes list were:

• The Environmental Business Cluster (San Jose, CA)

• Houston Technology Center (Houston, TX)

• The IceHouse (Auckland, New Zealand)

• Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (Worcester, MA)

• Palo Alto Research Center (Palo Alto, CA)

• The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (Champaign, IL)

• The Technology Innovation Center (Evanston, IL)

• University Research Park & MGE Innovation Center at the University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI)

• Y Combinator (Mountain View, CA)

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