Kaleidoscope and the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association Launch Ascend Innovations, a Collaborative Innovation Center
Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) June 09, 2015 -- Kaleidoscope, an innovation and product design firm headquartered in Cincinnati, has launched Ascend Innovations, a unique enterprise that brings together healthcare and military research with Kaleidoscope’s proven design practices. Ascend unites the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and other community partners with the goal of combining human-centered design and state-of-the-art technology to produce commercially viable solutions in human health and performance.
“As a leading driver in design, Kaleidoscope is thrilled to be part of this venture because we know we can play a significant role in human health innovation,” said Matt Kornau, CEO of Kaleidoscope. “Through this collaboration, Ascend will bring together teams and ideas that will leverage the strengths of the community, support the region’s economic growth goals, and ultimately transform healthcare.”
“As we developed this idea, we realized that in order to commercialize human health and performance products and services, a strategic business partner was needed, and that began with Kaleidoscope,” said Bryan Bucklew, President and CEO of Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA), a service organization representing 28 hospitals in the region. “Kaleidoscope is committed to working in partnership with us, which is what the area needs to be successful. By collaborating with Ascend, AFRL at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and other community partners, we can make our community a center of healthcare innovation.”
Together, these entities will collaborate to design and develop product and service solutions addressing health-related challenges and market opportunities while establishing Dayton, Ohio, as a sustainable and profitable center for healthcare innovation.
“The development of products in the healthcare space requires the fusion of the fields of medicine, engineering and technology. Ascend represents a singularly unique opportunity to harness the untapped capabilities of all Dayton regional healthcare facilities against the backdrop of a rich tradition of innovation and history,” said Sean Barnett, MD, MS, FACS, FAAP, Chief Medical Officer at Kaleidoscope and President and Medical Director of Ascend. Dr. Barnett, a board-certified and clinically active pediatric general surgeon, engineer, anatomist and scientist, brings a multimodal approach to medical device design.
Ascend is a cross-functional product design and development team made up of clinicians, researchers, industrial designers, engineers and business analysts. The downtown Dayton, OH, offices will be staffed by Dr. Barnett, Business Director Jeff Journey, MS, who brings diverse marketing and solution development experience across life sciences, defense, and design consulting to his role, Director of Insights Chris Hammond, Innovation Director Aaron Swick, MSE, and Senior Advisor Michael Clem, DVM, MS, Vice President of R&D, Medical at Kaleidoscope and a 20-year veteran of early-stage clinical product development.
Ascend will capitalize on Kaleidoscope’s innovation methods and talents to focus on health and human performance and establish the greater Dayton region as the global leader in human health innovation.
“Ascend represents one more way the Kaleidoscope team is constantly pushing the envelope of what’s humanly possible,” Kornau said.
About Kaleidoscope
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Kaleidoscope is an innovation and product design firm with five locations and more than 80 employees. They create Purpose Driven Innovation™ – products and experiences that grow businesses and improve lives by leveraging expertise at the intersection of consumer insights, technology and health and wellness.
About Ascend Innovations
Ascend is a Dayton, Ohio-based joint venture between Kaleidoscope and the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA), working in collaboration with the Air Force Research Labs to combine human-centered design and state-of-the-art technology for the delivery of commercially viable solutions in human health innovation.
About GDAHA
The Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA) is a member service organization of 28 hospitals that have a $8.1 billion economic impact and directly employ 33,822 people in the greater Dayton region.
Margee Moore, Kaleidoscope, http://www.kascope.com, +1 (800) 930-5793, [email protected]
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