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Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D. |
UNMC’s Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D., and UNL’s Shane Farritor, Ph.D., have been active in developing robotic surgery techniques, including co-designing a family of micro robots to assist in surgical procedures.
“The key to invention in today’s world is a collaborative process with multiple strategies,” Dr. Oleynikov said. “You want people from different disciplines talking to each other. That’s how you develop new ideas and that’s why we have been successful.”
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The university has filed 15 U.S. and foreign patent and patent applications based on these NINs, of which two have matured into issued U.S. patents, Dr. Linder said.
“Dr. Oleynikov and his colleagues are working in one of the most significant areas of minimally-invasive surgery,” Dr. Linder said. “The collaboration between Drs. Oleynikov and Farritor is an example of how intercampus collaboration, in this case between UNMC and UNL, can result in inventions that could not occur on either campus alone. UNeMed is working with the Office of Technology Development at UNL to make such collaboration seamless.”
On Aug. 23, UNeMed will honor Dr. Oleynikov and other UNMC scientists for their groundbreaking research during UNeMed’s 2007 Innovation Awards. The campus is invited to the 4 p.m. ceremony in the Durham Research Center Auditorium. A reception will follow in the DRC Atrium.
Dr. Oleynikov is receiving awards at this year’s Innovation Awards for the following U.S. patents.
- US Patent No. 7,042,184 titled: “Microrobot for Surgical Applications,” issued May 9, 2006. The concept of taking a tiny mechanical device and putting it completely and entirely inside the human body has been successfully commercialized and is being marketed by Nebraska Surgical Solutions.
- US Patent No. 7,126,303 B2 titled: “Robot for Surgical Applications,” issued Oct. 24, 2006. This patent continues the team’s concept for the miniature robots and extends it to include wheeled devices with cameras.
Dr. Oleynikov joined UNMC in 2001 and is an associate professor of surgery-general surgery. He also serves as director of education and training for the Center for Minimally Invasive and Computer Assisted Surgery and is co-chair of the Joseph and Richard Still Faculty Fellow in Medicine.
UNeMed is key in helping researchers take their disclosures and create commercial interest, Dr. Oleynikov said, because moving from idea to intellectual property is a complicated step.
“They are stewards in that process,” he said.
Dr. Oleynikov encourages his inventive colleagues to aim high.
“It’s surprising how fairly simple ideas — if focused and thought through — can become the new inventions of tomorrow,” he said. “No idea is a dumb idea. There may be some ideas less likely to go to market than others, but all are worth exploring.”
Oftentimes, it is collaborations, like that with Dr. Farritor, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at UNL, that propel ideas into successful ventures, he said.
“If it wasn’t for the cross pollination with Dr. Farritor, none of my ideas for mini robots would have come out,” he said. “It was only in meeting with him that we were able to focus and create these ideas.”