advanced e-team

Screening Probe System for Coronary Artery Disease

Case Western Reserve University, 2000 - $20,000

This grant supported the prototyping, further development, and commercialization planning of a gamma imaging system to assess the risk of coronary artery disease. The system, based on new gamma imaging sensor technology, is intended to compete with existing technologies such as stress testing, EKG and ECT imaging by providing a lower-cost, higher-resolution test.

Update: The team has incorporated as NeoMed Technologies, secured two patents and received over $700k in funding.

Biomimetic Hip Prosthesis

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2000 - $5,500

The major limiting factor in the lifetime of total hip prosthesis is wear and its incumbent problems. The current implant lifetime is ten or fifteen years, which is typically insufficient for most active patients, and revision surgeries are often necessary.

This grant supported the development of patent protection and the pursuit of licensing agreements for a novel approach to increasing the durability of artificial replacement hip joints. The team consisted of one student and a broad group of advisors working to develop basic technology sufficient to obtain patent protection and initiate licensing arrangements.

The innovation is a method of mimicking the lubrication capabilities of natural cartilage with a synthetic matrix containing molecules that mimic the weeping and ionic re-uptake of synovial liquid that protects the bearing surfaces.

Arthroscopic Simulator

North Carolina State University at Raleigh - $13500.00

This E-Team has developed a mechanical device which allows surgeons to practice various arthroscopic techniques on the knee, in order to develop better techniques and muscle memory. The device incorporates feedback mechanisms to allow for performance monitoring. It is portable, affordable, and easy to use

A Flexible Protein Modeling System for Undergraduate

Michigan Technological University - $13900.00

This E-Team will design, build, and field-test a flexible protein modeling system to be used in conjunction with physical, three-dimensional models of proteins. These physical models are produced using rapid prototyping technology at the Center for BioMolecular Modeling at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The addition of a flexible modeling component to these otherwise static models will greatly enhance the interactive nature of these instructional aids.

The models will be field-tested in conjunction with the summer program of the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, an organization of undergraduate educators committed to innovative curriculum development. In addition, the market potential of the product will be evaluated and a commercialization strategy will be developed for 3D Molecular Designs, LLC, a newly formed company that focuses on the use of rapid prototyping technology to produce accurate, physical models of proteins and other molecular structures.

The PIs include the developer of the technology, an entrepreneurship faculty member from Carthage College, and an influential curriculum development specialist from Beloit College. Student team members come from each of these three schools and will be on site at MSOE.

Guardian 2000 Global Monitoring System

University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus - $12500.00

This grant is helping to further develop and market the first of three models of "Guardian 2000 Monitoring system." The earlier version of this system continues to receive extensive national/international media coverage through TV, radio, Internet and national newspapers. Individuals and companies from around the world have expressed interest in buying or distributing the product. The "Guardian 2000" is a cutting edge invention designed to monitor the location of children, Alzheimer patients and other valued people and material items. Based on responses from media coverage and market research, the market demand for this product is growing rapidly. The E-Team consists of highly qualified faculty advisors (from both technical and business disciplines from two universities), technical and business experts/mentors, engineering and business students to insure success in bringing this device to the market.

This system has been prototyped in a NCIIA supported class; this grant supports a multi-institutional, multidisciplinary team of students from ETSU and LMU to develop production prototypes, business and marketing plans, and patents

The Bio-Logic Fuel System

Hampshire College, 1999 - $14,225

This E-Team, now incorporated as Greasecar, developed a kit that enables conventional diesel engines to run on unrefined waste vegetable oils. Biofuels are becoming increasingly important due to concerns regarding fossil fuel supplies, pollution and costs of pollution control, and other environmental concerns.

This project originally developed in the NCIIA-funded course Technological Innovation for a New Agriculture: Redefining the Tractor at Hampshire College. After receiving the grant the team founded Greasecar, which now has fifteen employees and annual sales over $1.2 million. They've sold over 4,000 Greasecar kits to date.

News update

Greasecar on Discovery!

ME 446 - Integrated Design II: Drag Reduction of Tractor-Trailers

Hampton University - $15500.00

Lessening the pressure drag on trailers can increase fuel efficiency in long haul semi-trucks. Clarkson University and Composite Factory, Inc., are jointly developing a drag reduction device that could cut fuel consumption by 5%, potentially saving US truckers about $2 billion per year.

Update: This project has spawned several graduate degrees, undergraduate research projects and received a grant from NYSERDA for over $300k. The team also made the news:

The Why Files

YubaNet.com

FleetOwner.com

The Cue Card Emergency Medical Aid

Stanford University, 1999 - $20,000

Observations and published studies reveal that retention of emergency first aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) skills is difficult. When these skills are not regularly used, both lay people and highly trained professionals (police, nurses and doctors) lose the ability to give adequate care within three months after training. This E-Team team developed a device that gives audio prompts to a rescuer, coaching a standard lifesaving algorithm. The device is about the size of a credit card and inexpensive to produce.

The team first started work on this idea in an advanced product design course called Needfinding. They found a common lack of confidence amongst survey respondents in being able to retain CPR training. The two students on the team were graduate students in product design, and they were assisted by a faculty advisor in product design and several industry advisors with experience in the medical industry, business development, and product design.

Simple Anastomosis Device Team

Stanford University, 1999 - $20,000

The standard method surgeons use to join grafted blood vessels to host vessels in cardiac bypass surgery is called hand suturing. This procedure creates a tight seal but is time-consuming and subject to a "purse-string effect," a common cause of bypass surgery failure. In most cases, the heart must be arrested during the procedure, leading to poor recovery and multiple complications. This E-Team received funding to develop and prototype a device that joins grafted blood vessels to host vessels in cardiac bypass surgery. The technology joins the vessels together without the complicated maneuvers that are difficult to perform on a beating heart. The procedure requires only fifteen seconds to implant the device and establishes the required "intima to intima contact" (the inside of one vessel to the inside of another vessel) between the anastomosed vessels.

The device is low cost and straightforward to manufacture. Due to its simplicity, surgeons can easily adopt the device and method since it does not require extensive training. The device that the team designed allows for minimally invasive surgery and would have fewer complications than other options.

Obsidian Cyclops

Lehigh University, 1998 - $20,000

This E-Team created Obsidian Cyclops, a novel high end mountain bike front shock. Aimed at the downhill segment of the mountain bike industry. Obsidian originated from a Lehigh University design project in the Integrated Product Development course. The project explored the possibility of and then prototyped a single blade suspension fork to improve on existing fork designs.