Researchers & UT Community
PROOF OF CONCEPT AWARDS
Technology Development
The Texas Proof of Concept Awards provide competitive funding for faculty membersor permanent researchers with principal investigator (PI) status to demonstrate the feasibility of their innovations to accelerate the process towards commercialization. We invite you to learn more about the past awardees and consider applying.
Award recipients
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.
UT Austin Startup:
Medical Elution Devices
Details
Website
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.
UT Austin Startup:
Details
Website
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.
UT Austin Startup:
Details
Website
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.
UT Austin Startup:
Details
Website
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.
UT Austin Startup:
ARTS Surgical Inc.
Details
Website
