| Efficiently Generating Complex Hydrogel Structures for Tissue/Organ-on-a-Chip Models |
- Faster: Reduces preparation time from several hours to minutes
- Simplified: Generates complex patterns, including perfusable channels, using light-triggered polymerization of synthetic hydrogels and photomasks rather than current equipment-intensive methods that use laser-based patterning or ablation techniques
- Lowers regulatory burdens: Using synthetic rather than biological matrices simplifies regulatory hurdles, increases reproducibility from batch to batch, and increases tunability of the mechanical and biochemical properties of the matrix
|
8838, 8839 |
|
| Electronic Immunoassay Using Enzymatic Metallization on Microparticles |
- Lower cost: Replacing fluorescent markers and readout methods with impedance detection has the potential to significantly decrease the cost of the assay.
- Transportable: Impedance measurements in microfluidics can be made transportable, which can potentially enable point-of-care applications, as electronic elements are more durable than optical elements.
- Practical: Identification of COVID-19 antibodies in COVID-positive serum samples has already been demonstrated.
|
8813 |
|
| patcherBotPHARMA Automated Intracellular Pharmacological Electrophysiology Robot |
- Increased efficiency: Autonomous operation ensures accurate placement of components and creates high success rates for experiment completion.
- Decreased human effort: Performs typical ligand-gated ionotropic receptor experimentation protocols autonomously for up to a tenfold reduction in operator interaction time over the duration of the experiment
- Higher experiment yield: Rapidly replicates previous datasets, reducing the time to produce an 8-point concentration response curve from weeks of recording to ~13 hours of recording
|
8717 |
|
| Wearable Ocular Electronics with Virtual Reality Solution for Effective Home-Based Vision Therapy |
- The first fully portable and wireless ocular electronic system in a VR environment provides an effective, home-based visual therapy program.
- The integrated wearable system has a data classification algorithm to provide high-fidelity, real-time detection of eye vergence to treat eye disorders.
- Running a VR system on a smartphone can create “virtual therapies” that can be used anywhere anytime.
|
7916 |
|
| Self-Driven, Reusable, Scalable Technique for Harvesting Microalgae with Porous Superabsorbent Polymer |
- Fast: The optimized pore structure of the PSAP beads allows fast and selective absorption of water, greatly reducing standard processing time.
- Cost effective: Microalgae harvesting with PSAP beads cuts costs, as it does not require any complex instrument and little training is needed to operate the harvesting procedures.
- Scalable: PSAP beads can be produced in large quantities at a significantly lower cost than conventional harvesting tools.
|
8849 |
|
| Simulated Synovial Fluid Offers Potential for Effective Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis |
- Osteoarthritis (OA)-simulated synovial fluid (simSF) provides the opportunity to evaluate how different cell therapies respond to an OA-like environment.
- By analyzing OA patient-derived synovial fluid (pdSF) and developing potency assays, researchers created a simSF comparable to pdSF that overcomes patient variability.
- The simSF allows for the investigation of OA biology with greater reproducibility of predictive outcomes and could advance effective treatment of knee OA.
|
8956 |
|
| Buoyant Platform Assembly Improves PCM Thermal Management |
- Enhances solidification: Incorporating highly localized agitation via a stirring whip rod, this technology seeds solidification to improve this often-arduous phase of PCM thermal cycling.
- Prevents scale build-up: This technology reduces the instance of sheets of solid PCM forming on the heat sink. The high-frequency, extensible whip rod orbits around the passageway to facilitate nucleation (creating improved solidification), while preventing scale build-up on the interior passageway surfaces.
- Customizable: The structural design allows the platform to be tailored to the effective density of the PCM material, enabling it to stay between the liquid and solid phases.
|
8835 |
|
| Reducing Intraocular Pressure in Glaucoma Patients Without Drugs or Surgery via a Simple Hydrogel Injection |
- Hydrogel injections alleviate elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) with fast results and extended impact.
- Surgery-free approach eliminates the risk of tissue damage caused by a surgical incision or laser application.
- Simplified and effective treatment process from standard daily drug intake to a brief office visit only once every 4-6 months.
|
8467 |
|
| Lightweight, Versatile Cryogenic Conductors |
- Lithium exhibits lower atomic mass, higher power density, and lower losses under cryogenic conditions
- Conductors such as lithium become even more power-dense at lower temperatures, exhibiting improved electrical performance
- Cladding with copper enables lithium to be drawn using standard wire-drawing techniques and tools
|
8729 |
|
| DetectIV Offers Noninvasive Early IV Infiltration and Extravasation Detection |
- DetectIV provides a continuous, noninvasive, and wireless IV infiltration and extravasation detection system.
- The sensor does not cover the IV site and works well with all skin types—significant improvements over existing detection devices.
- The device detects infiltrations on average 2 hours ahead of nursing standard of care making it an effective early detection system that prevents extended hospital stays.
|
7207 |
|
| Biodegradable Shape Memory Polymer for 3D-Printed Tissue and Biomedical Devices |
- New synthesis reaction produces novel biomaterials for soft tissue treatment combines shape memory and biodegradability with custom 3D printing for patient-specific, minimally invasive solutions
- Customizable to patient needs by varying the formulation and molecular architecture to alter the mechanical properties
- Improves safety and efficacy by providing a much-needed middle range to existing “too hard/too soft” tissue repair options, while also being biodegradable and bioresorbable
|
8655 |
|
| Synthetic Hydrogel for Satellite Cell Delivery in Dystrophic Skeletal Muscle |
- Addresses the critical need for a viable treatment for deterioration of the diaphragm, which is a leading cause of respiratory failure and death in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients
- Engineered hydrogels comprised of synthetic polymers and peptides are designed to enable successful muscle satellite cell (MuSC) transplantation to the diaphragm or other dystrophic skeletal muscle tissue
- Shown to support MuSC survival, proliferation, and differentiation, which can enable restoration of dystrophin – a protein absent in DMD and critical to strengthening and repairing muscle fibers
|
7841 |
|
| Microrobots for Neurosurgery Applications |
- Minimally invasive: Significantly reduces invasiveness of procedures in comparison to current macroscale, neurosurgical robots
- Precise control: Uses 3D position data of the microrobots on the brain surface in a closed-loop system to adjust the magnetic field parameters (i.e., magnitude, frequency, phase, and direct current [DC] offset of each coil) as well as the forces the robots exert to the biopsy tissue
- Facilitates movement: Employs microfabricated shapes that dictate the microrobot's movements, limits their contact with the brain surface to reduce adhesion, and may also provide a means for the robot to propel itself in fluid
|
8749 |
|
| Synthetic Hydrogels for Human Organoid (HO) Generation and Transplantation |
- Synthetic hydrogel exhibits high cytocompatibility and minimal toxicity and inflammation in vivo for improved human organoid viability
- Injectable delivery vehicle supports localized HO engraftment in mucosal wounds to potentially enhance wound closure and repair
- Modular design and delivery via endoscopic techniques enables the translational potential of this delivery platform for regenerative medicine and overcomes limitations associated with the use of commercially available matrices for hPSC-based organoid technologies
|
7536 |
|
| Hybrid Molecular Catalysts: A New Blueprint for Catalyst Design, Preparation, and Testing |
- Attachment of molecular catalysts to solid supports can lead to new reactivity not seen under homogeneous conditions
- At an optimal atomic layer deposition (ALD) layer thickness, the molecular catalyst remains highly active while still being resistant to surface detachment and subsequent deactivation
- Catalyst separation and recovery achieved via a simple filtering and washing process rather than energy- and time-intensive distillation or re-crystallization processes
- In addition to the simple filter-and-wash process mentioned above, encapsulation requires only about 10 reaction cycles, making this process technologically and economically viable for large-scale manufacturing
|
8537 |
|
| Eco-Method Mordant that Improves Natural Dye Adhesion to Synthetic Fabrics |
- Eco-friendly: An improved industrial dyeing process because it reduces excessive heat and water contamination during manufacturing.
- Wide applicability: Demonstrated to be successful with other materials beyond polyester, including Kevlar and polyacrylonitrile (PAN).
- Improved quality: Improving commercial dye methods without losing the desired properties of polyester such as flexibility is beneficial to industries like medical supply.
|
9048 |
|
| Advanced Manufacturing of Biodegradable Shape Memory Polymers Increases In Vivo Success |
- Faster healing: Improvements catalyze the regeneration of tissue for a faster recovery
- Increased efficacy: Decreases the likelihood of rejection because the polymers are manufactured in such a way to increase tissue ingrowth and cell attachment
- Reduced healthcare resource utilization: When initial implantation is successful, it reduces the need for secondary procedures or advanced clinical care for infection
|
8658 |
|
| Hydrogels for Controlled Delivery of Lysostaphin to Treat Staphylococcus aureus Infections |
- Injectable (or surgically applied) hydrogel formulation conforms and adheres to the fracture and surrounding tissue, ensuring efficient, local delivery of lysostaphin
- Localized treatments enable higher relative doses to be given at the site of infection, and enhanced stability from the hydrogel carrier may reduce the number of overall doses needed
- Tunable nature of the material provides control over the amount and time over which lysostaphin is delivered
|
7729 |
|
| Vapor Phase Infiltration Produces Solar Cells with Greater Thermal Stability |
- Stability: Decreasing spiro-OMeTAD crystallization improves thermal stability of hole transport layers within perovskite solar cells (PSCs)
- Longevity: Eliminating the main cause of PSCs’ operational degradation increases the overall product lifespan
- Efficiency: Preventing the delamination of the layers transporting electronic charge has doubled the power conversion efficiency of modified PSCs
|
9034 |
|
| Submersible Water Activity Meter (SWAM) |
- Submersion allows rapid determination of water activity (aw) levels onsite, without returning samples to a bench-top aw system in a lab
- In-situ measurement capabilities can inform other kinds of sampling decisions very rapidly, allowing discretionary sample collection
- Membrane is permeable to water vapor but not liquid water, preventing liquid (or other media) from entering the sample volume, reducing contamination and protecting the electronics
|
8902 |
|
