Ask the Experts: A Biomedical Innovation Forum

It is estimated that more than 400,000 gastrostomy tubes are placed annually in the United States. Our customer discoveries have revealed that endoscopy and fluoroscopy gastroenterologists fail to detect the colon in 50 % of cases. Additionally, the use of ionizing radiation in fluoroscopy, US artifacts cause complications and limit the efficacy of these placement procedures. Moreover, these procedures cater to a niche range of patients. Our US and photoacoustic (PA) imaging technology utilize a combination of an exogenous contrast agent and pulsed laser imaging tuned to the absorption coefficient of the contrast agent for accurate colon detectability. Hence our technology will provide safer G-tube placements in a wide range of patients.

Expert Panelist Rotation: Mike DeVries - 1:30 - 1:45pm, Hirak Parikh - 1:45 - 2:00 pm

Samuel John <gd1321@wayne.edu>

Wayne State University

Henry Ford Health Systems

Medical Device

Spatial transcriptomics (ST) is a technology used to spatially resolve RNA-seq data in tissue sections. Former ST technologies depended on generation of oligonucleotide microarray, an array of split-pool-barcoded microbeads, or multiple in situ hybridization/sequencing on the tissue sections. Former technologies are limited by a low resolution of the array structure (20-100µm), or by difficulties associated with in situ technique (long processing time, costly equipment, technical failure, etc.). We recently developed Seq-Scope which can profile spatial transcriptome quickly with ultra-high resolution (~0.6µm) and high RNA capture output (~5000 UMI/cell). We show that Seq-Sope can perform spatial single cell and subcellular analyses.

Expert Panelist Rotation: Dan Kidle - 1:15 - 1:30 pm, Hirak Parikh - 1:30 - 1:45 pm

Jun Hee Lee <leeju@umich.edu>

University of Michigan

Molecular & Integrative Physiology

Research Tool

A million people in the United States suffer from Parkinson's disease (PD). Currently, patients have yearly contact points with their healthcare providers. The Track My PD mobile app affords weekly/monthly, remote tracking across several PD symptoms. This symptom data can be used by patients and healthcare providers to track changes in PD and intervene earlier when symptoms change, resulting in better outcomes and improved patient quality of life. We estimate a market oppurtunity of 280K people with PD for our app. Our revenue model is two-fold: 1) B2C SaaS model and and 2) B2B SaaS model. Our next steps include protyping additional algorithms and app interfaces to track additional PD symptoms, along with testing our minimal viable product with patients and providers in 2022.

Expert Panelist Rotation: Mike DeVries - 1:00 - 1:15 pm, Dan Kidle - 1:30 - 1:45pm

Nathaniel Miller <natmille@umich.edu>

University of Michigan-Flint

Department of Psychology, Department of Computer Science, Engineering, and Physics, Department of Occupational Therapy

Digital Health Technology

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness, affecting > 3 million Americans and 80 million people worldwide. Elevation and/or fluctuations in intraocular pressure (IOP) are the primary risk factors, and monitoring/controlling IOP remain the primary therapeutic approach. Current IOP monitoring methods are inadequate and provide only a snapshot of the patient’s IOP history. Our solution is a contact lens sensor that uses wireless technology to provide continuous IOP monitoring. The sensor is a variable inductor, closed loop, strain device that both responds to pressure-induced corneal deformation and also serves as an antenna for wireless data transmission to an external reader. A smartphone app will provide data interpretation and communication with the patient and eyecare provider.

Zoom Passcode: 48823

Expert Panelist Rotation: Hirak Parikh - 1:00 - 1:15 pm,Mike DeVries - 1:15 - 1:30 pm

Arthur Weber <weberar@msu.edu>

Michigan State University

Departments of Physiology and Electrical and Computer Engineering

Medical Device

Tanapoxvirus (TPV), causes a mild, self-limiting, febrile illness of short duration in humans and monkeys. It does not spread from human to human and is epidemiologically limited to equatorial Africa; leaving the global population is immunologically naïve. TPV replicates in the cytoplasm of infected cells providing an important safety feature for future clinical deployment. We have engineered a number of TPVs that express immuno-stimulatory genes to aid in the anti-tumor response against treated tissue. Some of these recombinant TPVs have been tested in vivo against various cancer subtypes such as TNBC, Melanoma, and hCRC with some showing significant tumor reduction. Current work in immuno-competent mice should provide data necessary to bring TPV's development nearer to human trials.

Expert Panelist Rotation: Dan Kidle - 1:00 - 1:15 pm, Hirak Parikh - 1:15 - 1:30 pm

Michael Monaco <michael.l.monaco@wmich.edu>

Western Michigan University

Therapeutics