Innovation Week 2023

Video Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Dr. HaiAn (Andy) Zheng, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Studies

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation, and create an innovative manufacturing and business platform to help hemp farmers develop and produce botanical products by GMP standards as FDA approved products.

Overview: After the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp products were legalized and produced for a fast-growing marketing of “healthcare and wellness products,” including food, dietary supplements, and cosmetics by FDA definitions, as well as future pharmaceutical products that need higher investment. The development pipelines and supply chains are still disconnected through farmers, researchers, manufactures and consumers, and product design, development and production are disrupted and fragmented. 
A revolutionary platform and business model are needed to streamline the development and manufacturing process, for innovative products of high quality and value. Our Hemp-Van™ platform brings affordable, smart, continuous manufacturing capacity directly to farmers, for product development and manufacturing by GMP standards. The platform also incorporates a direct-to-consumer network, which also accumulates real-world data for future pipelines of value-added products.

This plan leverages our expertise on pharmaceutical sciences, engineering, and regulations on cannabis and botanical products. We welcome more engineers, IP experts, entrepreneurs, and investors to join our team to capitalize our innovations and visions.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Technical development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

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Video Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Kara Fumarola, Industry Professional – MSOT, Maria College

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation, and the technical foundation for a long handled, pill picker-upper. It would require an ergonomic grasp, lighted to see the pill on the floor and a suction ability or easy ability to pick up the pill with limited fine motor requirement. The proposed approach should improve medication compliance, independent ADL of medication administration and decrease hospital admissions.

Overview: Elderly patients take many medications multiple times per day. Elderly patients have decreased fine motor control, vision and difficulty bending forward from a standing position. If any elderly person drops one of their medications on the floor at home, many can’t bend over to pick it up or they will fall. They also do not have the fine motor dexterity or neuropathy in their hands to pick it up off the floor. Many elderly patients also have decreased vision and can’t see the pill on the floor. This leads to patients not taking or missing an essential medication which can lead them to a medical emergency and admittance to the hospital.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Technical development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

Presenter: Kara Fumarola, Industry Professional – MSOT, Maria College

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation, and the technical foundation to develop an attachment to a standard knife allow patients independence with the ADL of cutting their food. The proposed approach should improve independence with cutting food for these patients. This is a matter of patient dignity.

Overview: Many patients have difficulty cutting their food due to the narrow bridge a knife has to place your index finger to have control and strength for cutting. Patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson disease, neurological diseases, etc. have difficulty with fine motor skills, impaired dexterity, decreased strength, range of motion deformities in order to use the standard method to cut food. Alternate methods of a rocker knife are ineffective and limited success.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Technical development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

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Video Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Hannah Doss, Researcher, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation, and the technical foundation, for fluorescent viral surrogates for application in viral clearance studies as an alternative to live virus (Provisional Patent #63/276,184).

Overview: When developing manufacturing processes for biologic drugs (monoclonal antibodies, gene therapy, vaccines), it is imperative to assure the removal of process-related impurities (host cell proteins, DNA), product-related impurities (aggregates) and adventitious contaminating organisms such as viruses. Viruses can be introduced through a variety of routes, and can have severe, potentially fatal impacts on patient safety. Companies must cease production and potentially recall products during a contamination, which can cost up to millions of dollars and potentially risk medication shortage. Today, multiple mitigation strategies are utilized to prevent viral contamination. Despite these efforts, the potential for viral contamination has not been eliminated. As an additional safety measure, regulatory guidelines require the execution of viral clearance studies. These studies demonstrate the ability of the purification process to clear several orders of magnitude of virus in the unlikely case that a viral contamination makes it past upstream processing. Current viral clearance studies are performed with live virus, therefore this work must be performed off-site in collaboration with a CRO, as companies will not purposely expose their production lines to virus.  These off-site studies take months to perform and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The preservation of virus-containing samples and quantification of viral content also poses high risk of error and is highly time inefficient. Cumulatively, these downsides ultimately translate to higher drug prices for the patient and longer lead times for drug development and regulatory approval.

Considering this, scientists have attempted to develop and apply model surrogate virus particles to viral clearance validation in the hopes of streamlining the process. One example is the MockV™️ “Minute Mouse Virus mock virus particle” (MVM-MVP); a MVM viral-like particle (VLP) formed via self-assembly of MVM capsid proteins into empty capsids. For quantification of their MVM-MVPs, MockV developed an immuno-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)/ enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) hybrid sandwich assay technique. This quantification strategy is highly effective; however, the execution involves multiple cumulatively dependent steps, and has a detection limit 1000-fold higher than live virus quantification assays. From this, we believe there is still much room for alternative approaches.

To help address the current shortcomings of viral clearance validation, we strive to develop a series of fluorescent viral surrogate (FVS) particles with well-defined physicochemical characteristics aligning with the net charge and surface hydrophobicities of live model viruses currently employed in viral clearance validation. We propose an FVS design involving covalent attachment of capsid or capsid-like proteins (and phospholipids in the case of enveloped surrogates) to a fluorescent nanoparticle base, producing a highly stable particle that will allow for quick, simple, and precise quantification. The proposed work will also involve characterization of FVS clearance mechanisms across various separation unit operations (viral filtration (VF), affinity (AC), ion exchange (IEX), and hydrophobic interaction (HIC) chromatography) to formulate structure-processing-function relationships and to assess the feasibility of employing our FVS technology as an alternative to the use of live virus in viral clearance validation.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
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Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Dr. Joseph Borrello, Mt. Sinai Innovation Partners

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation for the innovative Mechanically Tunable Shear Actuated (MeTuSA) metamaterial patch technology, which offers a novel means to restore pumping function to a repaired region of the myocardium, using a highly efficient shear actuation mechanism inspired by the 3D laminar architecture of myocardial tissue. 

Overview: Open heart surgery is typically necessary to correct critical VSD cases, using thin, sheet-like patch materials such as Dacron and decellularized pericardium to close the septal wall and correct blood flow through the heart. Even in successful surgeries, however, depressed cardiac function can impair long-term patient health and quality of life, leading to a growing field of medicine for adults with CHD, with a corresponding financial burden to healthcare providers and payers (>$6 billion as of 2013).

While advances in complex surgical treatments for CHD represent a major medical success, long-term impairments persist because the materials used for myocardial repair remain remarkably simplistic. Such materials do not represent the latest in manufacturing capabilities, which can yield a new generation of patch-graft materials capable of not only correcting blood flow but also contributing to cardiac pump function, with beneficial impacts on patient health and associated healthcare costs.

Our innovative Mechanically Tunable Shear Actuated (MeTuSA) metamaterial patch technology offers a novel means to restore pumping function to a repaired region of the myocardium, using a highly efficient shear actuation mechanism inspired by the 3D laminar architecture of myocardial tissue. Delivered to the VSD in the same manner as graft materials used currently, the MeTuSA patch would stiffen and thicken during systole as the neighboring myocardium contracts, and would soften and thin during diastole as the myocardium relaxes, providing dynamic reinforcement coincident with the cardiac cycle, and improving pump performance by increasing stroke volume through an entirely passive mechanism.

Preliminary prototypes of this patch-graft device have been produced both in-house and in collaboration with external contract manufacturers, and both computational modeling and bench testing have confirmed the feasibility of this proposed mechanism and begun to identify candidate materials from which to fabricate the final device.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
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Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Nathan Smith, Researcher, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Short Description: Develop the business, marketing, and technical foundation for ADuCare, a comprehensive software platform designed to transform the care ecosystem for Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

Overview: We're developing ADuCare, a comprehensive software platform designed to transform the care ecosystem for Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Targeting the U.S., where AD affects 6 million individuals and disproportionately impacts women, African American, and Hispanic communities, ADuCare aims to be a holistic and inclusive care solution. Our platform offers multiple modules for seamless integration into the healthcare chain. The real-time cognitive decline tracking feature utilizes machine learning algorithms to analyze patient data and predict potential deterioration, thus providing early intervention opportunities. Additionally, we offer robust support forums, resources, and digital journals for patients and caregivers to share experiences and gain emotional support. For healthcare providers, ADuCare introduces physician engagement tools, equipped with dashboards and data analytics, allowing for closer patient monitoring and the development of personalized treatment plans. These tools aim to reduce the administrative burden on physicians, enabling them to spend more quality time with their patients. 

We're also introducing medication guidance functionalities, which offer dynamic, algorithmic drug recommendations based on the latest clinical research and the patient’s medical history. This feature aims to minimize adverse drug interactions and maximize therapeutic efficacy. Our overarching goal is to bring all stakeholders onto a common platform, making caregiving more effective and informed, which, in turn, will enhance patient outcomes across all affected communities.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
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Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Maddy Cardillo, Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation for a medical-grade atrial fibrillation detection device, designed for use on at-risk patients to be worn throughout their daily lives.

Overview: The device is a medical grade atrial fibrillation detection device, designed for use on at-risk patients to be worn throughout their daily lives. Using novel technology and AI algorithms, the device is intended to identify and relay to professionals all instances of atrial fibrillation. Finalizing provisional patent process.

Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

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Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Ashraf Elghandour, Industry Professional

Short Description: Develop the business, marketing, and technical foundation for a street and stationary bike that aims to engage multiple muscle groups, while providing a cardio workout with its ergonomic and kenotic design of the two bikes that also engages the rider by becoming one with the apparatus.

Overview: The zero-turn street and stationary bike (Patent No. 11,447,206) is a revolutionary and disruptive concept in the health and fitness industry. An exercise equipment that aims to engage multiple muscle groups, while providing a cardio workout, the ergonomic and kenotic design of the two bikes engages the rider by becoming one with the apparatus. The maneuverability of the street bike also provides the rider with greater versatility, thus making the ride more engaging and fun. The stationary bike will have interactive software that will mimic the experience of being engaged in a team sport. In summary, it's a whole gym in one.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Technical development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

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Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Dr. Michael Dailey, Clinician, Albany Medical College/BACC

Short Description: Develop the business foundation for a device for use in ambulances that attaches a baby bucket (infant car seat) securely to the stretcher while facing the correct direction -- backwards.

Overview: Currently there is no safe way to secure infant bucket carriers in ambulances. These devices are designed to fit into custom bases, or have two points of contact on a forward facing seat; since an ambulance stretcher is rear facing, they cannot be secured. This lack of a securement mechanism often puts infant patients at high risk of being transported in a dangerous manner (e.g., being carried on a parent's lap) and becoming a projectile in a crash or sudden stop. Current ambulatory infant carrying devices are all designed to hold the infant, as opposed to their infant bucket carrier. Transferring an infant from their carrier to these securement devices significantly increases risk and adds critical time to the transport of the child to the hospital, and increases stressors for parents of ill children, as the infant is removed from a safe and familiar environment, and strapped to a stretcher. There is a need for a securement device that can be attached universally to any stretcher in the field, as well as any standard bucket carrier, allowing a clinician to safely transport an infant in their own device safely.

Through partnership with a group of Union College Biomedical Engineers in their capstone design course, a prototype securement device was developed that allows for universal infant bucket carrier attachment to ambulance stretchers. We are eager to explore the business opportunity surrounding this innovation, looking for input on customer discovery as to whether the device should be reusable or single-use, a better understanding of the patent landscape, and suggested approaches to the market. We are looking to determine the best way forward and would love your help in ensuring that all infants can be transported safely and securely by ambulance.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Eric Ledet, Industry Professional, Center for Disability Services

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation for a novel toothbrush specifically for caregiver assisted oral hygiene. The patent-pending toothbrush is unique in both its handle and head which are designed to minimize brushing time while maximizing comfort and health. 

Overview: More than 12 million people in the US need assistance every day for activities of daily living. In the US alone, there are almost 70 million professional and informal (family) caregivers who assist with eating, toileting, bathing, and oral hygiene. Individuals with cognitive disabilities are often resistant to oral hygiene making this a significant challenge for caregivers. There are no oral hygiene products on the market specifically designed for a caregiver to brush someone else’s teeth. This is fundamentally different from self-brushing. Efficiency is key to successful care. We have developed a novel toothbrush specifically for caregiver assisted oral hygiene. The patent-pending toothbrush is unique in both its handle and head which are designed to minimize brushing time while maximizing comfort and health. In 2023, we demonstrated the safety of the novel toothbrush in a clinical trial. An upcoming clinical trial will evaluate efficacy. The design is protected by a non-provisional utility patent application (PCT/US19/31096).

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

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Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Eric Ledet, Industry Professional, Center for Disability Services

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation for a portable walker to assist the user in traversing a stair, a curb, or other obstacle while providing continuous support and without requiring the user to lift the walker.

Overview: The number of Americans using mobility aid devices such as walkers for gait assistance exceeds 6 million. The incidence of injuries from falls that involve walkers is significant. When a user encounters an obstacle such as a step or threshold, not only does the walker provide no assistance, but it requires the user to lift the walker over the obstacle. All current commercially available walkers require the user to lift the device while traversing a stair or threshold. This encumbers the user and increases fall risk. We are developing a portable walker to assist the user in traversing a stair, a curb, or other obstacle while providing continuous support and without requiring the user to lift the walker. With the increasing aging population in the US, the potential to enhance mobility and prevent injury is significant. We have filed a provisional patent application on several embodiments of walker designs.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

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Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Eric Ledet, Industry Professional, Center for Disability Services

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation for a portable, deployable, door opening system that mounts to any wheelchair and uses only the motion of the chair to open  doors.

Overview: Most doors are not handicap accessible. When a wheelchair or scooter-user approaches a non-handicap accessible door, current best practice is to wait for another person to open the door. This diminishes the independence of the consumer. There is no commercially available solution which allows wheelchair users to open non-accessible doors autonomously. A system that is deployable from the chair increases independence and accessibility. We are developing a portable, deployable, door opening system that mounts to any wheelchair and uses only the motion of the chair to open  doors. We have developed prototypes of an opener which rotates the knob and pops open the door, a puller which rotates the door so the user can pass, and a guard to prevent the door from closing on the user. We are evaluating a novel cylindrical cam-based design for the opener which is compact, portable, and can integrate with the wheelchair. A provisional patent application has been submitted with multiple embodiments.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

_____________

Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Eric Ledet, Industry Professional, Center for Disability Services

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation, and technical foundation, for an alert system that prevents a child from being left in a vehicle accidentally.

Overview: Since 1998, about 950 children have died in hot cars and more than half of them were left behind unknowingly by their caregiver. Forgetting a child is not a negligence problem but a memory problem. Stresses parents face in everyday life can make these memory lapses more likely. During the summer, many families change their daily routines for vacations or other reasons, and that disruption is a common factor in these tragic incidents. Many times, when a child died, there had been a change in the day’s routine,  such as a parent who wouldn’t normally be responsible for day-care drop-off might have been given that task that day. Sleep deprivation and stress can also increase the potential for a working-memory failure. Some automakers have integrated "rear seat reminders" into their instrument cluster, but these are often overlooked. We are interested in developing an alert system that prevents a child from being left in a vehicle accidentally.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Technical development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
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Video pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Steve Higgins, Researcher

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation and create shipping container greenhouses, using renewable energy resources (and bees) for use in the cannabis industry.

Overview: This project aims to tackle every aspect of life sciences. The goal is to recycle and reuse materials and available green energy to build self-contained and automated greenhouses for the purpose of breeding/cloning/creating unique cannabis strains for patentability.

A considerable engineering effort will be needed, both plant and insect (the aforementioned bees) biology/genetics, in addition to expertise within lighting/ultra pure water systems/ventilation disciplines. There is also an IoT component to allow all aspects to communicate properly. We would be seeking students and faculty interested in the technical development as well as those who prefer the business/marketing aspect of the project.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Technical development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
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Virtual pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Dr. Richard Kim, Richard Kim Medicine

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation for a product that provides arch support and a structured system for foot flexibility and plantar support. (Patent No. US11350699B2)

Overview: The orthotic device includes a base member, an arch support portion, and a covering for coupling the arch support portion to the base member. This is also a method of providing continuous contact with the plantar surface of the foot during all phases of the gait cycle. Most solutions for providing arch support are either rigid and provide a structured system without foot flexibility or flexible and unable to provide plantar support. Devices that are rigid and/or uniform are adept to stationary activities, such as standing, but do not provide support when the user is active as they remain linear to the plantar aspect of the foot. Flexible or softer insole devices allow for increased flexibility, but do not provide sufficient plantar and arch support. Thus, new and improved arch support devices and methods for using the devices are needed to provide both foot and sole flexibility while also providing increased plantar and arch support.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

_____________

Virtual pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Dr. T. Paul Singh, Faculty, Researcher, Clinician

Short Description: Develop the business, marketing, and technical foundation for AIXUS Health, a healthcare solution platform for managing the surgical care experience that leverages software solutions to provide expert timely navigation for patients and providers.

Overview: The current methods for preparing patients for surgery and then evaluating their recovery has not changed in the last 20 years. There are multiple gaps in this road to surgery and recovery that can create both minor and major problems for patients and surgeons. Each of these gaps can make the surgical process more difficult for both parties. This has significant cost to each group, not to mention the unmeasured costs to friends, families, and employers. The road to surgery has many people participating and potentially affecting the outcomes of the surgery, thereby creating many variables in these outcomes. 

AIXUS Health is focused on changing the delivery system in the field of surgery to provide current real time recommendations and navigation to improve the lives of surgical patients. AIXUS Health is a software-based solution that provides surgeons and patients with insights that will affect their surgical journey. The construction of a real time navigation solution does not exist in this multiple input surgical environment. AIXUS Health is focused on creating this new paradigm for real time care delivery. 

AIXUS Health is looking for individuals focused on creating technological solutions for everyday problems that make surgery more stressful for patients and solve potentially life altering adverse outcomes. We are looking for business management experts as well as software programs to create a new paradigm for surgery. In addition, we are searching for marketing and communication specialists who can facilitate the movement to this new delivery modality. AIXUS Health’s core mission is to improve the lives of those patients having surgery moving forward.  

NEEDS
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Technical development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

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Virtual pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Dr. Ernest Chisena, Faculty, Albany Medical College/BACC

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation for an orthopaedic trauma surgical instrument system.

Overview: For patients with spiral fractures of long bone or periprosthetic fractures (fractures around a total hip or total knee implant), one method of fixation of the fracture is by placing a cerclage cable circumferentially around the bone. However, current surgical techniques require a sizable incision to safely pass the wire circumferentially. This is associated with significant morbidity and operative time. The goal of the project is to evaluate the current market for such a device or technique and develop a technical solution to this problem.

NEEDS
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Technical development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

_____________

Virtual Pitch: click here to watch

Presenter: Alex Zhou, MD Candidate, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Short Description: Develop the business and/or marketing foundation for a novel machine learning-based software solution that can analyze spinal MRIs in conjunction with clinical symptoms to identify patients at high risk for cervical myelopathy (CM) and other spinal disease/injury and directly refer them to surgical consults.

Overview: We are developing a novel machine learning-based software solution that can analyze spinal MRIs in conjunction with clinical symptoms to identify patients at high risk for cervical myelopathy (CM) and other spinal disease/injury and directly refer them to surgical consults. Physicians can directly refer patients with suspected spinal cord disease for imaging, and our software would then analyze the spinal imaging and clinical symptoms to generate a risk diagnosis for direct referral to surgery or to other management options. Our analysis pipeline will do this by generating novel quantitative clinical metrics from imaging to stratify patients into CM risk categories and enable more informed surgical decision making.

This would streamline the CM care chain by improving patient screening for surgical candidates, reducing missed CM diagnoses, reducing time-to-treatment down to as low as 3 months vs over 12 months currently, preventing permanent symptomatic progression and the downstream costs from management of those deficits, and saving healthcare costs from unnecessary interventions and costs per associated quality-of-life year. We have filed our solution with the intellectual property office at Mt. Sinai.

NEED
Business development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Marketing development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

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Monday (9.26) Recordings

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 12:30 - 1 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Pingkun Yan, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Short Description
Develop a business foundation and the next generation of fusion systems using artificial intelligence (AI) for guiding prostate procedures, including biopsy and localized therapy, to address the technical needs in this commonly performed clinical procedure.

Overview
Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancers in American men, which is diagnosed through prostate biopsy. Fusing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound for guiding targeted biopsies can improve the biopsy yield by 30%. However, MRI-ultrasound fusion is very challenging due to the difficulties in directly registering images with different resolutions and dimensions. The existing commercial fusion systems require the use of specialized hardware tracking devices, including electromagnetic (EM) tracking, optical tracking, and mechanical positioning. These tracking devices are expensive and cumbersome to set up, which increases costs and prolongs the procedures. More importantly, the motion of the prostate relative to the tracking system coordinates, caused by patient body movement, respiratory motion, or ultrasound transducer pressure change, can lead to misalignment. Effective use of existing systems requires great skill and specialized knowledge of radiological imaging, and studies show a steep learning curve for specialized clinicians. We are developing the next generation of fusion systems using artificial intelligence (AI) for guiding prostate procedures, including biopsy and localized therapy, to address the above technical needs in this commonly performed clinical procedure.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 1 - 1:30 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Adam Ryason, Intelligent Medicine

Short Description
Develop a business foundation and continue to develop the engineering capabilities of Circulate, a cloud-based platform for simulating particle flow in heavily populated, dynamic environments.

Overview
Circulate is a cloud-based platform for simulating particle flow in heavily populated, dynamic environments. This innovation will reduce infectious spread by providing us with the ability to simulate viral particle dispersion in populated, indoor environments to better design facilities and plan circumstance-specific mitigation procedures (disinfection, evacuation etc.). Future plans include real-time monitoring and prediction integration through a developed digital twin of facilities.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Engineering assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

Tuesday (9.27) #1  #2 & #3 Recordings

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 11:30 - 12 p.m.

Presenter: Richard Merchant, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Short Description
Develop the business foundation and deploy an innovative digital platform that serves as an infrastructure for healthcare workforce development and a solution for a worsening workforce crisis.

Overview
Development and deployment of a unique and innovative digital platform that serves as an infrastructure for healthcare workforce development. The project convenes key healthcare stakeholders (students, career-seekers, employees, employers, training programs, economic developers) and the various workforce development programs onto the platform to access essential information, tools, and resources, formulate career plans, connect with targeted stakeholder groups, and establish strategic partnerships. Medical and technological advances in the healthcare industry are severely compromised because there is a worsening healthcare workforce crisis. The digital platform has been developed to basic functionality through the Health Workforce Collaborative (www.hwcollab.org), a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Minimal targeted outreach has been conducted to build content and shepherd users to the site. Vetting and funding thus far has been through more than a half-dozen community foundations who consider the project essential to mitigating the healthcare workforce crisis. The design of the digital platform and approach is replicable into other industries. The project managers envision sustainable growth through corporate sponsorships from entities such as insurers and pharma due to the nature and high volume of users that will be using the platform. The project requires an influx of funding to accelerate from current proof of concept to full deployment consisting of regional digital platform development and overwhelming targeted market outreach. This phase of the project could initiate in the Capital Region and subsequently be replicated regionally throughout the State. Beyond funding, support in technology development and effective business and marketing modeling is required. This project is directly aligned with the current Governor's emerging Office of Healthcare Workforce Innovation as well as the anticipated New York 2023 Medicaid 1115 Waiver initiative. The Governor's Health Team, the legislature's Assembly and Senate Health Committees, the Department of Health, the Department of Labor, the New York State Business Council, and Empire State Development have been briefed on the project.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Engineering assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 1 - 1:30 p.m.

Presenter: Bennett Ashley, SUNY Cobleskill 

Short Description
Develop a device and business foundation that will gauge the impairment level of a human due to cannabis use while exploring alternative design solutions beyond a breathalyzer. This includes researching the effects of THC on the body, pinpointing when someone is impaired, and what body part is being affected. 

Overview
The founder would like to create a device that law enforcement can use to indicate whether someone is impaired at the exact time the test is being given. This would save countless lives and be needed by at least every officer in the United States. Other marijuana breathalyzers exist, however, it can only tell if marijuana is in someone's body, not if they are currently impaired. Currently, there are other companies that have created a marijuana breathalyzer. Hound Labs is in the process of creating a device that can tell if someone has used THC in the past 2 to 3 hours. However, the founder questions why this device has to be a breathalyzer and would like to explore alternative design solutions. The founder is looking for people to research the effects of THC on the body, can pinpoint when someone is impaired, and what body part is being affected. From there we can not only create a threshold if needed but find and/or create a device that can use that data to detect in real time if a person is impaired. 

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Engineering assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 1:30 - 2 p.m.

Presenter: Diana Bartlett, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 

Short Description
Develop the business foundation and an app that can train caregivers who are dealing with terminally ill family members who are in denial about their condition and facing a number of unknown variables.

Overview
Dealing with a terminally ill family member can be devastating - especially when the family member is in denial. Numerous organizations such as the Mayo Clinic recommend seeking help from a hospice professional, palliative care physician/nurse, religious leader, or other individuals. But a third party may be seen as too impersonal or intrusive, leaving the caregiver floundering. This idea is for an interactive app that can train caregivers who are dealing with terminally ill family members who are in denial about their condition but who are:

(a) Mentally alert yet experiencing significant physical decline, who believe that they just need “a pill” for complete remission

(b) Mentally alert yet experiencing significant physical decline, who believe that they should still be able to drive, shop, live alone, visit neighbors, gamble, etc.

(c) Mentally and physically in decline – when is it time for stepped-up care?

(d) Other situations in which caregivers are trying to manage terminally ill family members with little or no training or information to guide them.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Engineering assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

Wednesday (9.28) Recording #1  Recording #2  Recording #3

Virtual Presenting Time: 12-12:30 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Scott Tenenbaum, Nanobioscience Laboratory of RNA Nanotechnology

SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Short Description: Develop a business foundation for structurally interacting RNA, or “sxRNA” for short, representing a novel platform technology presently being commercialized for multiple biomedical applications, including therapeutics, diagnostics, imaging and biomanufacturing.

Overview: RNA, along with DNA and protein, is one of the central building blocks of life and is emerging as one of the hottest areas of promise for the biomedical industry. Researchers at the SUNY Nanocollege are commercializing patented technology that describes how RNA can be designed and engineered to produce switchable structures that can be used to control biological action, much like a light switch is used to turn on a lamp. This advance has been termed structurally interacting RNA, or “sxRNA” for short, and represents a novel platform technology presently being commercialized for multiple biomedical applications, including therapeutics, diagnostics, imaging and biomanufacturing.

How sxRNA Works

The sxRNA approach is based on the binding of one RNA molecule to a second RNA molecule in a designed manner. This allows us to target the presence of a cellular or disease specific RNA to act as a “Trigger” to change the structure of a “Bait” RNA that has been engineered to turn ON when the two RNAs interact.  Once ON, this sxRNA can control the gene expression of a cell. This mechanism provides a unique ‘ON/OFF’ switch for the controlled expression of target protein.  Unlike other technologies that only turn off gene expression, the switchable gene expression control system offered by the sxRNA platform provides a means to turn ON the gene expression. By coupling the protein expression with the unique RNA signature of a cell, our sxRNA technology enables the tissue-specific expression of a selected gene product and the ability to control this expression at the level of mRNA rather than DNA.  This creates many new possibilities for RNA-based gene therapies, diagnostics, and biomanufacturing as well as other medical applications. For example, sxRNA could be used to express a suicide protein specifically in pancreatic cancer tissue or integrated into a point-of-care test used to screen for exposure to the Lyme pathogen and incorporated into the biomanufacturing pipeline to speed up the process and increase yield.

NEED

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Virtual Presenting Time: 12:30-1 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Joseph Borrello, Mt. Sinai BioDesign 

Short Description: Develop technology and the business foundation for mechanical metamaterials that could be used as synthetic tissue grafts for highly dynamic tissue, such as myocardium. 

Overview: This project is derived from work produced at Mount Sinai, investigating how mechanical metamaterials could be used as synthetic tissue grafts for highly dynamic tissue, such as myocardium. This offshoot aims to explore the potential for mechanical metamaterials to serve as peripheral vascular grafts with more favorable mechanical properties than the currently used PTFE and Dacron grafts. The specific clinical indication has not been explored in depth, however, the foundational technology we aim to apply to this problem has been extensively developed, albeit in need of specification towards this clinical indication.

NEED

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Virtual Presenting Time: 2:-2:30 p.m.

Presenter: Anish Dhanasekaran, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Short Description: Further develop a digital application to mitigate the symptoms of miodesopsias as well as utilize data to identify nuance underlying causes.

Overview: Miodesposias, better known as eye floaters, is a phenomenon experienced by 7 out of every 10 individuals. For some the floating black/clear lines are barely noticeable; however, for others it is a constant and unavoidable irritation that leads to not only physical but extensive psychological irritation. The presenter aims to mitigate the symptoms of miodesopsias through further development of the award-winning application that the presenter created at HackMIT. By utilizing the app, users are able to find out if they will experience symptoms and how to best mitigate those symptoms. Furthermore, through improving the machine learning model’s recognition of common patterns that users with miodesopsias experience in the process of mitigating their symptoms, the presenter aims to identify nuance root causes that may cause the seemingly arbitrary extensive eye floaters to appear in some users' vision.

NEED

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Thursday (9.29) Recording #1  #2  #3  #4

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 12 - 12:30 p.m.

Presenter: George Panagis, Albany Medical College/BACC

Short Description
Develop the business foundation and an affordable penile traction device (PTD) which delivers penile traction therapy (PTT) to those with Peyronie's disease and post-prostatectomy length loss. 

Overview
The proposer is aiming to develop an affordable penile traction device (PTD) which delivers penile traction therapy (PTT) to those with Peyronie's disease and post-prostatectomy length loss. Peyronie's disease is seen in up to 1 in 11 US men. It causes pain and sexual dysfunction among a multitude of other issues. Ultimately, it can severely impact one's quality of life. Currently, the main therapies are penile injections which can cost around $30,000 over 10 years, surgery costing  approximately $15,000, and/or one of the currently available PTD's that cost anywhere from $200-500 + as an out-of-pocket expense. Penile traction devices are not a substitute for the definitive treatment (injects and surgery); however, the majority of people are just symptomatic enough to want improvement, and would likely benefit from incorporating something less invasive such as a PTD.
 
The issue with this is that there is no guarantee that treatments will work. In fact, if the plaque is mature, PTD alone may have minimal impact. For those patients, injection and surgery are the only options. Unfortunately, there is no great predictor for how a person may respond to PTT, as it's not the severity of the deformity that dictates the response, but instead, the maturity and makeup of the penile plaque (the source of all these issues). As such, it would be nice to offer patients an affordable PTD that gives them an opportunity to try penile traction therapy. The hope is that this novel device will be the first-line, non-invasive option offered to all patients initially who have concerns pertaining to penile curvature and length. Even if the patient ultimately decides to do injections (which can be done along with PTT, and is actually recommended), surgery, or try another more expensive PTD, at least they had an opportunity to see if PTT could work for them with minimal financial commitment upfront.

The average American cannot cover an unexpected $500 expense, let alone spending hundreds of dollars on a device to improve the form of their penis. Why should a person have to hold back on receiving treatment that may improve their quality of life because of cost? This device solves that issue.

Need
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VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 12:30 - 1 p.m.

Presenter: Sara Rudin, Albany Medical College/BACC 

Short Description
Develop the business foundation for an isolation gown — which health care providers wear to protect themselves from pathogens — that can be washed 300 times before disposal. 

Overview
The gowns can be reused 300 times, compared to single-use disposable gowns. The material, supplier, and manufacturing methods are set, and we are engaged in the patent process. The gowns cost $39.95 for 300 uses, or $0.13 a use, while a comparable disposable is $2.15 for one use. 10,000 is a standard lot size for buying gowns in bulk. At 10,000 uses this puts the disposable, current gown, at $21,500 and our gown at $1,358, netting a $2.02 savings per use or $20,480 saved per 10,000 disposable gowns replaced. 

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 1 - 1:30 p.m.

Presenter: Brendan Laing, Albany Medical College/BACC 

Short Description
Develop the business foundation for the IV Wedge, an accessory to a catheter that holds IV catheters and other cannula-bearing devices at a secure and fixed position for the entirety of treatment.

Overview
The IV Wedge is an accessory to a catheter that holds IV catheters and other cannula-bearing devices at a secure and fixed position for the entirety of treatment, stabilizing the catheter, supporting the proper insertion angle, and minimizing movement in the vein and kinking.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 1:30 - 2 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Nibras Bughrara, Albany Medical College/BACC 

Short Description
Develop the business foundation for an easy and highly accessible exam, Echocardiographic Assessment using Subxiphoid-Only View (EASy), which enables any clinician to obtain a suggested patient management plan by quickly analyzing a single-view from a handheld ultrasound.

Overview
In the United States alone, there are almost 300,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests each year, yet survival rates are only between 15-20%. This high mortality rate can be attributed to the current standard of care requiring a lengthy diagnosis time and various highly specialized staff. The easy and highly accessible exam, Echocardiographic Assessment using Subxiphoid-Only View (EASy), enables any clinician to obtain a suggested patient management plan by quickly analyzing a single-view from a handheld ultrasound.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

Friday (9.30) Recordings #1  #2  #3  #4  #5  #6

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 1 - 1:30 p.m.

Presenters: Santina and Rego Marquiis, SharpsBox 

Short Description
Develop a monthly subscription service and a product design that will take the inconvenience of finding, buying, and disposing of sharps off the hands of individuals/families/caregivers living with Type 1 Diabetes (Phase 1).

Overview
SharpsBox is a monthly subscription service that will take the inconvenience of finding, buying, and disposing of sharps off the hands of individuals/families/caregivers living with Type 1 Diabetes (Phase 1).

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Engineering assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 2-2:30 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Richard Kim, Richard Kim Medicine

Short Description
Develop a device and business foundation for a product that provides arch support and a structured system for foot flexibility and provide plantar support. 

Overview
Orthotic devices for providing arch support for the foot. The orthotic device includes a base member, an arch support portion, and a covering for coupling the arch support portion to the base member. This is also a method of providing continuous contact with the plantar surface of the foot during all phases of the gait cycle. Most solutions for providing arch support are either rigid and provide a structured system without foot flexibility or flexible and unable to provide plantar support. Devices that are rigid and/or uniform are adept to stationary activities, such as standing, but do not provide support when the user is active as they remain linear to the plantar aspect of the foot. Flexible or softer insole devices allow for increased flexibility, but do not provide sufficient plantar and arch support. Thus, new and improved arch support devices and methods for using the devices are needed to provide both foot and sole flexibility while also providing increased plantar and arch support.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
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VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 2:30 - 3 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Richard Kim, Richard Kim Medicine 

Short Description
Develop the business foundation and a regenerative medical procedure device that improves on current market products allowing for a safer process and shorter processing times for how chronic pain issues are treated.

Overview
Regenerative medical procedures are changing how chronic pain issues are treated.  Often now, same day and in-office.  Our device has improved on current market products allowing for a safer process and shorter processing times.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
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VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 3 - 3:30 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Eric Ledet, Center for Disability Services

Short Description
Develop the business foundation and an alternative to the walker (for elderly & individuals with disabilities) which facilitates safe negotiation of a single step or a threshold.

Overview
Develop the business foundation and an alternative to the walker (for elderly & individuals with disabilities) which facilitates safe negotiation of a single step or a threshold.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Engineering assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 3:30 - 4 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Eric Ledet, Center for Disability Services

Short Description
Develop the business foundation and a wheelchair transfer system to eliminate caregiver strain/injury. (This project may be eligible for the NYSID CREATE competition.)

Overview
Develop the business foundation and a wheelchair transfer system to eliminate caregiver strain/injury. (This project may be eligible for the NYSID CREATE competition.)

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Engineering assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)

VIRTUAL PRESENTATION TIME: 4 - 4:30 p.m.

Presenter: Dr. Eric Ledet, Center for Disability Services

Short Description
Develop the business foundation and a personal hygiene apparatus for elderly and disabled - toenail management system.

Overview
Develop the business foundation and a personal hygiene apparatus for elderly and disabled - toenail management system.

Need
Business/Startup development assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)
Engineering assistance (if interested in joining this team, please click here)