Professor secures funding for new medical device
Martin Tanaka will work with researchers to develop a device to treat lymphedema.
Donated photo
Martin Tanaka, a professor of engineering and technology at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, has a knack for creating innovative gadgets as a biomedical engineer. He has two patents for medical devices: one to help with rotator cuff surgery and another for a surgical tool for nasal surgery.
Now, thanks to funding from NCInnovation, Tanaka is going for his third.
The Western Carolina University professor received $1 million worth of funding from NCInnovation to develop an innovative device to treat lymphedema. Lymphedema can cause a buildup of fluid in the arms or legs.
Patients treated for breast cancer may develop lymphedema as a complication from surgery, but it can affect anyone who has cancer, major injuries or other surgeries.
The funding is part of a $10 million initiative from NCInnovation that will support 13 projects across 11 University of North Carolina System campuses.
“It's super gratifying because it's making an impact on people's lives,” Tanaka said. “[This funding is] extremely important because my project would not be done if I didn't have it. The idea would have just sat in a file in my drawer, probably until I retired.”
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Tanaka will employ two full-time researchers and four students, two from WCU and a pair from Southwestern Community College, to help develop the device. The team will work with clinicians and patients to refine the design, optimize its performance and prepare it for clinical testing.
Tanaka expressed gratitude to the College of Engineering and Technology Dean Randy Collins, WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown and NCInnovation Western Regional Director Meagan Coneybeer, among others, for their role in helping secure the grant.
“The Chancellor's been very supportive of the work that we've been doing here in the college and also helping us to create this new environment that's supporting research, product design and development,” Tanaka said. “It's providing all the things that this project requires.”
Before becoming a professor, Tanaka spent 11 years working on commercial products, including an instrument cluster for the Mercedes-Benz M Class SUV.
“For me, it takes me kind of back to my roots of being able to design and build commercial products,” Tanaka said. “Now, being able to work on a cutting edge, new technology that doesn't exist in the world is very exciting for me.”
The idea behind this project came from Tanaka’s work on a compression garment donning device he and a team of capstone students designed for lymphedema in 2011.
The plan behind the project is to not only reduce pain and poor health caused by lymphedema, but to also take a weight off patients' shoulders emotionally. Tanaka said breast cancer patients who suffer from lymphedema often become reclusive, embarrassed by the disfigurement.
Tanaka hopes that feeling will be a thing of the past.
“NCI is focusing on North Carolina, but this is a problem around the world,” Tanaka said. “The solutions that we're working on will not only benefit North Carolinians, but will also benefit the rest of the world, too.”
