Research & Technology

June 6, 2022
Spectrum Health Hyperbaric and Dive Medicine expanding with new multiplace hyperbaric chamber
Grand Rapids, Mich., June 6, 2022 – Spectrum Health Hyperbaric and Dive Medicine is expanding with the arrival of a new multiplace hyperbaric chamber that can accommodate up to eight patients at once. The new department and chamber will be located at 330 Barclay Avenue in Grand Rapids. This chamber replaces the current monoplace, or […]

July 28, 2021
Spectrum Health First in Nation to Treat Epilepsy Patient with New Device
Grand Rapids, Mich., July 28, 2021 – Spectrum Health has employed a new and sophisticated medical device to ease some symptoms associated with medically refractory epilepsy and certain movement disorders, making it the first hospital in the nation to use the device to treat a patient with epilepsy and the first in the state of […]

February 2, 2021
Spectrum Health Offers COVID-19 Treatments to Promote Recovery
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Feb. 2, 2021 – Spectrum Health West Michigan will open an infusion clinic at Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital on Feb. 10 that uses monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of COVID-19 under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization. The infusion treatment features Eli Lilly’s Bamlanivimab and Regeneron’s Casirivimab and Imdevimab combination. Bamlanivimab also is being used at Spectrum Health Lakeland to treat COVID-19 patients as part of their COVID-19 Medication Therapies […]

January 28, 2021
Spectrum Health Offers New Treatment for COPD
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 28, 2021 – Spectrum Health is the first health system in West Michigan to offer targeted lung denervation, an investigational treatment option for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. Targeted lung denervation (TLD) is a bronchoscopic intervention designed to disrupt pulmonary nerve reflexes, which may have the potential to […]

October 29, 2020
Spectrum Health Enrolling Patients in Clinical Trial for Inpatient COVID-19 Treatment
GRAND RAPIDS Mich., Oct. 29, 2020 – Spectrum Health is partnering with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to enroll patients into a clinical trial evaluating REGN-COV2, the company’s investigational antibody cocktail for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Spectrum Health is the only health system in West Michigan and one of only two in the state to offer […]

October 27, 2020
Spectrum Health to Participate in the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, the First of Its Kind for ALS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 27, 2020 – Spectrum Health is one of 54 sites of the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS), which has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to proceed with administering three proposed drug regimens in the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial – the first trial of its kind for amyotrophic […]

May 8, 2020
Minority Children with Cancer in PICU’s Show Higher Death Rates
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., May 8, 2020 – A new study led by Spectrum Health physician researchers shows that minority children with cancer admitted to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) throughout the nation have higher death rates than their Caucasian counterparts. The study found that mortality rates for African American (8.5 percent) and Hispanic children (8.1 […]

January 15, 2020
New Study May Lead to Fewer Hysterectomies in Women with Uterine Fibroid Tumors
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 15, 2020–Uterine fibroid tumors are the leading cause of hysterectomies in the U.S., yet little is known about what causes them. A new study, however, has taken researchers one step closer to understanding how these tumors develop and grow. Researchers at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Van Andel […]

January 2, 2020
Study Describes a New Complication in Systemic Juvenile Arthritis
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 2, 2020 – A Spectrum Health rheumatologist took part in a multi-center study that is the first to describe a deadly set of complications of systemic juvenile arthritis (SJA). In the United States, up to 300,000 children have some form of arthritis or pediatric rheumatic disease. The most common type is […]
November 21, 2019
Attacking cystic fibrosis at its roots

November 6, 2019
New technique lays foundation for regenerative cardiac therapies
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Nov. 6, 2019 — Scientists have devised a technique to sort out which heart cells can replicate and which cannot, a critical step toward treatments that may one day help the heart heal itself after injury. The method, published in the journal Circulation Research, removes a significant roadblock to developing ways to regrow […]

October 16, 2019
MSU and Spectrum Health Researchers Team Up to Find New Treatments for “Orphan Diseases”
Grand Rapids, Mich., October 16, 2019 – The National Institutes of Health has awarded a Michigan State University researcher a $2.1 million, five-year grant to search vast databases of existing drugs. Many of the drugs are already approved for treating other disorders, but some could be adapted to treat what often are called “orphan diseases” […]

October 8, 2019
Spectrum Health Earns 2019 CHIME HealthCare’s Most Wired Recognition
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 8, 2019 – Spectrum Health is proud to be recognized as a 2019 College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Most Wired health care organization at a certified level nine. The Most Wired program conducts an annual survey to assess how effectively health care organizations apply core and advanced technologies into […]

April 11, 2019
OST and Spectrum Health Announce CareCircle to Keep Patients Connected to Loved Ones
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 11, 2019 – OST and Spectrum Health announce the launch of CareCircle, a software platform that helps patients communicate with loved ones as they make their way through their health care journey. OST, a Grand Rapids-based technology firm, developed the secure CareCircle website (www.carecircle.com) for patients to safely provide updates on […]

October 19, 2018
Spectrum Health Ventures Invests in Gauss Artificial Intelligence Triton Technology to Better Identify Postpartum Bleeding
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 19, 2018 – Spectrum Health Ventures is joining nine other investors as part of a $20 million Series C investment in Gauss Surgical’s Triton artificial intelligence technology. Triton estimates patient blood loss in real time by using computer vision and machine learning algorithms to analyze images of surgical sponges and canisters. Triton […]