Huntington Times

Two Marshall University innovators, Brad Profitt, DC, DPT, DScPT, and M’Hamed Turki, M.D., have been selected to participate in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded IDeA Regional Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED) Program, facilitated by the XLerator Network. The NIH’s competitive I-RED program supports the creation of educational products to promote entrepreneurship in academic institutions. XLerator Health, a healthcare accelerator based in Louisville, Kentucky, assists startup founders like Profitt and Turki in commercializing their businesses and attracting funding.

Profitt is a co-founder of Ortho-HAB, LLC and an associate professor at the Marshall University School of Physical Therapy. He has developed KneeXT, a medical device designed to aid in the recovery of knee extension and flexion post-trauma, injury or surgery. This technology is designed to restore functional range of motion by complementing the work of physical therapists in clinics and empowering patients to take an active role in their recovery at home. As part of his I-RED project, Profitt aims to leverage the expertise of seasoned professionals to bring the device to market.

Turki, a gastroenterology fellow at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, has invented an oropharyngeal cannula that attaches to a bite guard. This device facilitates the passage of endoscopes and helps prevent hypoxia during upper endoscopies. Initial prototypes have been designed and developed exclusively in West Virginia in collaboration with Intermed Labs. The oropharyngeal cannula has recently entered the human clinical trial stage under Marshall University IRB Study #2182501-2. Through the I-RED program, Turki plans to transition the device from lab to market.

Profitt and Turki are two of 20 participants across eight teams selected for the 2024 I-RED program.

These selections highlight Marshall University’s commitment to fostering research and innovation across health sciences that advance technologies and contribute to medical science's future.