Proof of Concept Awards

Christopher Rylander Therapeutic System for Brain Cancer

Synopsis:

Standard treatments for aggressive brain cancers are often ineffective and non-curative due to many challenges with treating tumors within the brain. UT engineers are developing a multifaceted catheter system that can deliver therapeutic agents and heat directly into desired positions in the brain tumor in order to maximize treatment potential.

Farshid Alambeigi Steerable Surgical Drilling Device

Synopsis:

Current orthopedic drills can only drill in a straight line, making surgeries involving complex anatomies more time consuming and less successful. UT engineers have invented a handheld steerable drill for surgeries that require curved trajectories, allowing more efficient and more successful procedures.

Delia Milliron Flexible and Smart Window Film for Energy Efficiency

Synopsis:

Roughly half of the energy consumption in the United States for buildings is for thermal control and lighting. New smart windows can control heat and light from the sun to improve energy performance in buildings but nearly all installed windows lack these capabilities and it is extremely expensive to replace windows in commercial buildings. UT researchers are developing an innovative, low-cost, film that can be applied to existing windows to dynamically control the amount of heat and light that goes through windows.

Tom Yankeelov Predicting and Optimizing Cancer Treatment

Synopsis:

When treating cancer, some treatments are more or less effective for different patients and physicians often lack tools that predict how patients will respond. UT researchers have developed a mathematical model that uses patient-specific imaging data to make accurate, patient-specific predictions of eventual response early in the course of therapy. They are currently focused on advanced brain, breast, and prostate cancer and are collaborating with UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Aaron Baker Drug Eluting Chest Tube for Pain Reduction Following Surgery

Synopsis:

Traditional chest tubes are simple medical devices that are essential for draining the area around the lungs following surgery or injury. While these devices provide an important, lifesaving function they also cause constant, intense pain that requires treatment with opioid pain medication. UT innovators have developed a new chest tube that elutes local non-opioid anesthetic agents for pain reduction following cardiothoracic surgeries and trauma.

Aaron Baker Stem Cell Conditioning for Enhanced Vascular Regeneration

Synopsis:

Currently, there is no treatment available that addresses the lack of microvasculature caused by long-term peripheral arterial disease, a chronic, progressive disease that affects 20% of the US population over 65 years old. UT engineers and physicians have invented a device that can enhance stem cell therapies for treating peripheral arterial disease in a brand new way. Using novel technology, we have found ways to increased stem cell expansion and efficacy in treating peripheral arterial disease and ischemia.

Janet Zoldan Sustainable Beef Brisket

Synopsis:

Current meat production will not be able to meet the increasing demand across the globe and it’s negative environmental impact is only growing. UT biomedical engineers are using a patented scaffolding technology to develop cultured beef brisket with similar look, texture, and taste.

Andrew Ellington Low-cost Rapid Diagnostic Enzyme Complex

Synopsis:

There is a global need for point-of-care diagnostic tests for infections but the key enzyme components of these tests can be expensive or hard to obtain. UT researchers have invented an extremely low-cost preparation method for key enzymes used in diagnostic tests that can enable rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

Salvatore Salamone Rail Defect Detection by Noncontact Vibration Measurements

Synopsis:

Nonvisible transverse defects in railways are one of the main causes of railway track-related incidents, costing hundreds of millions of dollars in the past two decades. Current rail inspection technologies cannot be mounted on operating train cars and are only reliable at slow speeds, costing railway operators time and money. UT engineers have developed a laser doppler system that can be used on operating trains and at much higher speeds.

Manish Kumar Advanced Water Filtration Material

Synopsis:

Water is a critical resource for many different industries and it must be treated to specific standards, often involving chemicals or energy-intensive operations. Innovators at UT have developed sustainable, low-cost plant-based filters that remove high amounts of viruses, bacteria, and oil from water.

Jonathan Chen Fabric Strain Sensor Device for Pharyngeal Rehabilitation

Synopsis:

Swallowing dysfunction affects roughly 500,000 children and nine million adults in the US, potentially resulting in life-threatening choking and pneumonia. Clinical swallowing evaluations and technology only capture a snapshot of behavior, resulting in low validity of current testing, especially for children. UT scientists are seeking to provide a noninvasive and unobtrusive testing procedure for patients using novel sensing fabric that is able to be worn and washed for daily living.

Debadyuti (Rana) Ghosh Pulmonary Delivery of Gene Editing to Cure Cystic Fibrosis

Synopsis:

There are over 100 thousand people with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease with no cure, where the median age of death is 37. UT scientists are developing safer and local delivery of gene therapy using non-virus-based technology to effectively and functionally treat the genetic disease of cystic fibrosis.