Henry Ford Innovation Institute

What Henry Ford Innovation Institute does

Henry Ford Innovation Institute (HFII), established in 2012, is the dedicated innovation division of Henry Ford Health, a private nonprofit health system headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Operating as an internal innovation hub rather than a standalone commercial entity, HFII identifies, develops, and advances inventions generated by Henry Ford Health clinicians and researchers, moving clinical insight from ideation through patenting, licensing, and real-world deployment. The institute's portfolio includes 3D Printing Services for surgical planning and everyday clinical tooling, a digital care-coordination platform called Care Bridge piloted with partner Cura Collaborative, the non-contact dialysis technology PatenSee under evaluation, and immunology research led by Dr. Qing-Sheng Mi on reprogramming the immune system to fight disease. HFII also operates the Davidson Fellowship to cultivate internal innovators and an Idea Submission portal for clinicians and researchers.

The institute runs a multi-sided Innovation Hub that brings together internal clinical talent, early-stage healthcare startups, and dedicated venture investment to validate, adopt, and scale innovations inside Henry Ford Health's real-world care settings. Its stated business activities span licensing and royalties on patented inventions, professional services tied to industry partnerships and startup engagement programs, and managed venture investment activity, though the institute is not structured as a revenue-generating commercial entity and does not publicly disclose pricing or product pricing. The customer base is broadly three-sided: Henry Ford Health clinicians and researchers serving as internal inventors, early-stage healthcare companies seeking clinical validation (e.g., Cura Collaborative, PatenSee), and industry partners seeking access to clinical expertise and patient populations.

Governance sits within Henry Ford Health under President & CEO Bob Riney, with the institute funded historically through philanthropy, including a 2014 anchor grant of $3,000,000 from the William Davidson Foundation. Strategic relationships include a partnership with Michigan State University Health Sciences on healthcare innovation and research, a pilot with Cura Collaborative around Care Bridge, and an evaluation-stage relationship with PatenSee for dialysis care. The institute positions itself less as a commercial product company and more as a structured innovation pipeline that converts clinical ideas into patents, partnerships, and validated healthcare solutions across the Henry Ford Health footprint.

Name

Henry Ford Innovation Institute

Legal name

Henry Ford Health

Website

https://henryfordinnovation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Innovation Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Innovation, Product & R&D Consulting (BPAHACAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Additive Manufacturing Research & Innovation Labs (IMAAAJAA), Conferences, Workshops & Industry Events (AM Knowledge Sharing) (IMAAAJAL)

Keywords

• Healthcare innovation services
• Clinical technology development
• Medical 3D printing
• Healthcare venture investment
• Clinical research commercialization

Headquarters

HQ city

Detroit

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Innovation Commercialization: The organization identifies and develops ideas created by Henry Ford Health clinicians and researchers, moving clinical insight into real-world impact through patents and commercial partnerships.
2. Industry Partnerships: Collaboration with early-stage companies and industry partners to bring best-in-class external solutions into the health system through structured engagement programs.
3. Venture Investment: Dedicated venture investment to validate, adopt, and scale innovations in real healthcare settings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Henry Ford Innovation Institute operates the innovation division of Henry Ford Health, identifying and developing ideas from the health system's clinicians and researchers and moving them into real-world impact. Through its Innovation Hub, it licenses patented inventions, runs a clinical 3D printing program for surgical planning, develops digital care-coordination tools such as Care Bridge, evaluates partner technologies like PatenSee, and engages early-stage companies and industry partners to validate and scale innovations inside a major hospital system.

Product overview

Henry Ford Innovations is a healthcare innovation ecosystem operated by Henry Ford Health, structured as a platform with multiple integrated modules. The core offerings include: the Innovation Hub as the central platform providing a structured pathway for clinical innovation; Available Inventions for licensing patented technologies; 3D Printing Services for clinical and surgical applications; Care Bridge for care coordination; and PatenSee for dialysis technology. Additional support mechanisms include the Davidson Fellowship for innovator development and an Idea Submission portal for clinician researchers. The ecosystem also engages early-stage companies and industry partners to bring external solutions into the health system, combining clinical expertise, startup engagement, and venture investment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Care Bridge: A digital tool designed to improve care coordination and support patients and caregivers beyond the hospital.
• PatenSee
• Davidson Institute
• Innovation Hub

Products and services

• 3D Printing Program Clinical 3D printing service supporting Henry Ford Health clinicians with patient-specific anatomical models, surgical guides, and other tools for everyday and advanced surgical planning.
• Care Bridge Digital care-coordination tool developed with Cura Collaborative and piloted inside Henry Ford Health to support patients and caregivers beyond the hospital setting.
• PatenSee Non-contact dialysis technology being evaluated at Henry Ford Health to make dialysis treatment safer, more comfortable, and easier for patients.
• Available Inventions (Licensing Catalog) Catalog of patented inventions developed by Henry Ford Health clinicians and researchers, offered to outside parties for licensing, collaboration, or further development.
• Innovation Hub Structured collaboration and translation platform that combines clinical expertise, startup engagement, and venture investment to validate, adopt, and scale healthcare innovations inside Henry Ford Health.
• Inventor Idea Submission Submission portal that allows Henry Ford Health clinicians and researchers to submit innovation ideas for evaluation, development, and commercialization support.
• Davidson Fellowship Fellowship program under Henry Ford Innovations that supports internal innovators and creators, backed by the William Davidson Foundation.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Michigan State University Health SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHenry Ford Health has established a partnership with Michigan State University Health Sciences to collaborate on healthcare innovation, research, and clinical development initiatives.
• Cura CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHenry Ford Health is piloting Care Bridge, a digital tool developed by Cura Collaborative designed to improve care coordination and support patients and caregivers beyond the hospital.
• PatenSeeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHenry Ford Health is evaluating PatenSee, a non-contact technology designed to make dialysis safer, more comfortable, and easier for patients.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mayo Clinic Ventures: Mayo Clinic Ventures is the commercialization and venture arm of Mayo Clinic, handling invention disclosure, patenting, licensing, and startup spinouts from clinician research. Directly comparable mission to HFII — translating internal clinician inventions into commercial outcomes within a nonprofit health system.
• Texas Medical Center Innovation: Texas Medical Center (TMC) Innovation operates an innovation campus and accelerator engaging health startups with TMC's hospital members for validation and scaling. Comparable to HFII as a health-system-anchored innovation platform, though at significantly larger geographic and partner scale.
• Mass General Brigham Innovation: Mass General Brigham Innovation commercializes discoveries from Mass General Brigham's research hospitals, including licensing, industry partnerships, and startup formation. Directly comparable to HFII as an academic-health-system innovation/tech-transfer office with structured startup engagement.
• Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures: Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV) is the technology transfer and commercialization arm for Johns Hopkins University and its health system, managing invention disclosure, patenting, licensing, and startup creation. Comparable to HFII in moving clinical and research innovations to market via licensing and venture mechanisms.
• Cleveland Clinic Innovations: Cleveland Clinic Innovations is the technology commercialization and venture arm of Cleveland Clinic, identifying, developing, and licensing inventions from its clinicians. Directly comparable as a major US health system innovation hub doing patent licensing, startup engagement, and venture investment.
• Mount Sinai Innovation Partners: Mount Sinai Innovation Partners handles technology commercialization, patenting, licensing, and industry partnerships for the Mount Sinai Health System. Directly comparable to HFII as a US health-system innovation office licensing clinician-derived inventions and partnering with industry.
• UPMC Enterprises: UPMC Enterprises is the venture and commercialization arm of UPMC, investing in and building healthcare companies emerging from UPMC's clinical and research base. Comparable to HFII's Innovation Hub pathway in combining internal invention commercialization with external venture investment.
• Stanford Medicine Office of Innovation: Stanford Medicine's innovation programs support translation of academic medical research into clinical and commercial outcomes via licensing, partnerships, and venture activity. Comparable to HFII as an academic-health-system innovation hub working with clinician-inventors and external startups.
• Kaiser Permanente Innovation Hub: Kaiser Permanente's Innovation organization supports internal and external innovation across care delivery, digital health, and medical devices within the Kaiser system. Comparable to HFII in operating a structured innovation pathway within a large nonprofit health system serving internal clinicians and external partners.

Emerging players

• Cedars-Sinai Accelerator: The Cedars-Sinai Accelerator runs a structured program engaging early-stage healthcare companies to pilot and validate technologies within the Cedars-Sinai health system. Comparable to HFII's Early-stage Company Engagement program (Cura Collaborative, PatenSee pilots) but with a more accelerator-style cohort format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HenryFordIdeas
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HFiiDetroit2012
• Facebookfacebook.com/HenryFordInnovationInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hfinnovations
• Instagraminstagram.com/hf_innovations

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Henry Ford Innovation Institute