The Ohio Third Frontier recently invested $3 million in a multi-million dollar initiative by Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center to boost medical-related economic development in Northeast Ohio.
The goal of the venture “is to provide a professionally managed, pre-seed fund that will help advance commercialization of discoveries that include medical technology related to imaging; surgical instruments/equipment; implant devices and degenerative medicine; business and health-care software; advanced materials; and fuel cell and energy storage technologies,” according to a news release.
The Case Technology and University Hospitals Ventures Fund (CTUHV Fund) also is getting $2 million from Case Western Reserve and $1 million from the medical center.
The CTUHV Fund plans to invest in 12 new companies by providing “pre-seed funding,” according to a news release.
In a statement, Stephen Behm, director of technology management at UH Case Medical Center, said the fund will be used to help bring health-care discoveries at the medical center to market.
Diet ratings
Trying to stick to that New Year’s resolution to lose weight?
According to an article in Consumer Reports magazine, a free smart phone app called MyFitnessPal and the Weight Watchers program score highest for consumer satisfaction.
The article — published in the February edition of Consumer Reports and available online at www.consumerreports.org — included the results from a survey of more than 9,300 readers who rated 13 diet plans.
Among the do-it-yourself diet plans that were rated, MyFitnessPal received the highest overall patient satisfaction, with top scores for allowing a variety of foods and encouraging calorie awareness, exercise and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
Weight Watchers ranked highest among readers for consumer plans, earning top marks for maintenance, calorie awareness and food variety.
However, readers told Consumer Reports they lost more weight on the Medifast program than other diet plans rated by the magazine. Typical reported weight loss on Medifast was 20 to 43 pounds for men and 14 to 40 pounds for women.
Sledding safety
Don’t let a trip down a snowy hill end with a trip to the ER.
Each year, an estimated 20,820 children are injured while sledding, according to research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.
The pediatric hospital shared these tips for a fun but safe sledding experience:
• Make sure children are dressed warmly with gloves and boots.
• Wear a multi-sport or bicycle helmet to prevent head injuries.
• Consider using a sled rather than flat sheets, snow discs and toboggans, which are harder to steer.
• Have an adult with children when they go sledding.
• Avoid sledding in areas with trees, fences and light poles or on rocky hills.
• Go down the hill feet first.
• Teach children to stop and turn by using their feet.
• Limit the passengers on the sled to the recommended number.
• Don’t sled in the street or on driveways and hills that end in the street or in a parking lot, river or pond.
• Never ride a sled pulled by a car, ATV, snowmobile or other motorized vehicle.
• Only use snow tubes in tubing parks.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.