Medium density fiberboard (MDF) is a key component in interior construction but low-cost options use formaldehyde, resulting in indoor air quality issues from volatile organic compound (VOC) outgassing and fire hazards, making such MDF unsuitable to meet many commercial construction safety regulations. Formaldehyde-free options do exist, but the cost is high, limiting use. We have created BetterBoard, a drop-in replacement MDF which replaces toxic formaldehyde with binder derived from seaweed, providing premium VOC and fire safety at a fraction of the cost of alternatives.

35.5 million people in the U.S. live with chronic kidney disease, in which impaired kidney function allows phosphate, urea, and other uremic toxins to accumulate, reducing quality of life and ultimately driving the need for dialysis. TheraT is an oral hydrogel bead platform, inspired by bubble tea, that captures and/or converts multiple uremic toxins directly in the gut before they enter the bloodstream, with the goal of complementing dialysis, reducing toxin burden, and delaying or preventing progression to dialysis.

*Cofunded with the Population Health Initiative at UW

Many industries that depend on accurate chemical analysis for safety, regulatory compliance, and process efficiency make use of gas chromatography, highly sensitive but large tabletop instruments that require expert operators and an hour to run samples creating costly and dangerous bottlenecks in many cases. We have developed a portable, miniaturized gas chromatography system the size of your fist still capable of high sensitivity but also high-speed, processing samples in a second making the device a game changer for inline process monitoring and field work.

Many sinus surgeries fail to fully remove diseased tissue, increasing the risk of complications, persistent symptoms, and repeat procedures. A key challenge is that tissue removal changes the patient’s anatomy during surgery, causing the surgical plan based on preoperative CT imaging to become less accurate as the procedure progresses. VISTA addresses this problem by turning standard endoscopic video into real-time, updated 3D surgical guidance. Using the video already collected during surgery, VISTA tracks anatomical changes and updates the surgical plan with submillimeter accuracy. Our mission is to help surgeons navigate confidently near critical structures, remove diseased tissue more completely, and improve the likelihood that sinus surgery is done right the first time.

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have become the workhorses of ocean science, offshore energy and, defense programs yet once an AUV dives, it is on its own and all too frequently fails its mission due to rigid pre-programmed mission scripts when the unexpected is encountered. The cost of this rigidity is high in extended deployments costing tens of thousands of dollars a day or trying to record everything just in case resulting in wasted time obtaining a mountain of low value data. Blucline AI replaces pre-programmed mission scripts with a real-time, edge-deployed AI planning system that acts as an intelligent operator onboard the vehicle so the AUV can focus on what matters resulting in faster and more successful deployments.

Millions of people living with hydrocephalus, a neurological condition characterized by excess fluid buildup in the brain, rely on implanted shunts to manage the condition. However, these devices fail at high rates, often becoming blocked by biological buildup that restricts fluid flow. As a result, many patients require multiple invasive revision surgeries throughout their lives. CSFlow has developed a novel antifouling coating that helps prevent this buildup from forming, keeping devices functioning longer and reducing the risk of failure. By addressing the leading cause of shunt failure, CSFlow aims to reduce repeat surgeries, improve patient outcomes, and lower healthcare costs.

When treating a stroke, time is critical to outcomes, yet there is a bottleneck when patients are transferred from a facility with a typical CT Scanner to higher-level center with advanced CT scanners needed to determine if surgeons should go ahead with invasive surgery, wasting critical time to come to a decision. KronosCT is an AI-based decision support tool that is able to interpret standard CT scans to make surgical decisions cutting the decision time in half by eliminating rescans with advanced scanners significantly improving outcomes.

Polycarbonate is prized for its high strength and durability, used in products from luggage, safety glasses, dishware to skylights. But in many applications, such as safety glasses, the lifetime of polycarbonate products is prematurely ended due to scuffs and scratches. We have developed a drop-in additive that can be simply mixed with virgin or recycled polycarbonate that allows scratches to heal with the application of moderate heat allowing polycarbonate products to look as new as the day they were made. Further, this platform technology works on ANY thermoplastic polymer, at ANY scale, with ANY existing manufacturing process.

Telehealth is here to stay, but laboratory testing for key health biomarkers, such as cholesterol, is still dominated by full lab tests requiring commuting to in-person clinics, mailing samples back-and-forth, or learning how to use myriad at-home testing devices of varying quality. We have developed highly accurate, easy-to-use test strips for common biomarkers that are immediately compatible with everyone’s smartphone, enabling users to conduct the test, view results, and suggest next steps using the device already in their pocket.

In the US, 20 million surgeries are performed every year that require medication induced paralysis, and best practice guidelines recommend the use of a paralysis monitor to avoid potential respiratory complications. However, current monitors can be inaccurate and frustrating to set up and use. We have developed a paralysis monitor that measures direct muscle force unlike other monitors, providing both easy setup and high accuracy for anesthesiologists managing the level of paralysis.