For Inventors

At Cleveland Clinic, you might think of yourself as a scientist, clinician or researcher. Maybe you’re a nurse, administrator or patient. But if you have curiosity, a desire for discovery and the drive to improve the future of healthcare, you’re an inventor. Inventors are the lifeblood of Cleveland Clinic, and the reason Cleveland Clinic Innovations exists.

How Does Cleveland Clinic Innovations Work for You?

Here’s how our Innovations team works for you:

• Attentive team: Dedicated Engagement Partners guide you through every stage of the invention disclosure, assessment, development and commercialization process. They are your advocates and navigators, making sure you always know the status of your project.
• Domain expertise: We understand the changing and competitive landscape of the health tech industry. Our in-depth knowledge of medical devices, digital health tools, and therapeutics and diagnostics optimizes your invention for success.
• Proof of Concept (POC): Our POC programs help inventors define, research and test early-stage ideas. Idea-to-Invention, Catalyst SPARK® and the Innovation Fellows programs provide inventors with education, mentoring and resources to better define and advance their ideas for new medical products.

Getting Started

Are you a Cleveland Clinic inventor with an idea? We’d like to hear it. Getting started is easy.

1. Disclose your invention

Disclose your invention by submitting an Invention Disclosure Form (IDF). This form creates a formal record of your invention and helps us plan how to protect your intellectual property. Learn more about submitting an IDF, the Innovations process and associated legal agreements by exploring our Inventor Portal, available to current Cleveland Clinic faculty and staff.

2. Connect with an Engagement Partner

After you submit your IDF, a member of our Engagement team contacts you to discuss it further. We want to fully understand the problem you’re trying to solve, your proposed solution and its differentiators — because every idea matters. Your Engagement Partner is your point of contact throughout the Innovations process. You can also connect with an Engagement Partner before submitting your IDF to learn more about the process and get guidance on optimizing your IDF.

3. Invention assessment and next steps

Our team thoroughly assesses your invention, evaluating its features, applications and potential benefits. We determine if we can protect it as intellectual property and how it might fit into and grow the current health technology market. The assessment process takes about 60 days, at which point we decide if the invention should move forward in the Innovations process of development and commercialization.

If we determine an invention is not ready for development and commercialization, your Engagement Partner works with you to figure out the best next steps. We may recommend collaboration with the Proof of Concept team to further define and research the idea.

Inventor Portal

Caregiver Access Only

Access to the Inventor Portal is exclusive to Cleveland Clinic Caregivers. A network connection is required for Caregiver access. Follow the instructions to access the dedicated resource for Caregiver inventors.

1. Log in to the network through the VPN access point with Cisco Connect Anywhere.
2. Once logged in, please select the blue button below to access the Inventor Portal.

If you experience any access issues, please get in touch with IT support to access the VPN network.

Learn More About Inventing With Cleveland Clinic Innovations

Connect with an Engagement Partner to learn more about disclosing an invention and the Innovations process.