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Stanford University

Enabling Effective Management of Neonatal Jaundice in Rural India

Stanford University, 2009 - $46,500

If left untreated, neonatal jaundice can cause kernicterus, a form of brain damage with complications including deafness, cerebral palsy, and death. In the US, phototherapy treatment (shining wavelength-specific light on the baby) has virtually eliminated kernicterus, but in developing countries like India only a small segment of the population has access to effective treatment.

In order to improve patient access to neonatal jaundice treatment in rural Indian clinics, this team is developing a low cost, low maintenance opto-medical device. Instead of using fluorescent tube lights, the team’s device will use longer lasting, low power, blue LEDs supported by a battery backup for when the rural clinic’s power goes out. Typical LED phototherapy devices sell for $600-$5,000; the team is targeting $150 as the selling point for its device.

The Breast Examination Simulator: A Training and Assessment Tool for Patrients and Physicians

Stanford University, 2001 - $16,700

Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer among women in the US and the leading cause of cancer deaths for women. The National Cancer Institute estimates that one in eight American women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Early detection leads to early treatment and improved patient outcome. Breast Self-Exams (BSE) aid early discovery of the disease, but only 29% of women regularly conduct the exam. Part of the reason for this low percentage is that health care providers do not have a standardized method for teaching breast examination skills.

In response to this lack of uniformity, the Brest Examination Simulator E-Team developed training tools to simulate breast exams and teach the proper procedure. The team created computerized, strap-on breast models for teaching patients how to perform breast self-exams and plated breast models for teaching medical students, residents, nursing students, and physician assistants to perform clinical exams. Each model simulates various conditions, including normal and pathologic. Both models contain electronic sensors to communicate users' movements to a computer screen as they examine the models. The computer data provides individualized performance evaluations and helps define the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of an adequate clinical exam, thereby standardizing the method. Model development is based on the E-pelvis simulator, which one of the E-Team members designed.

The E-Team consisted of a business graduate student and two research associates, one with the Stanford University Medical Media and Information Technology Department and the other with the Department of Surgery. They worked with the owner of a hardware and software development company, a professor from the School of Medicine, and the president of Mentice Medical Stimulation AB, a simulator company.

CHI (Cheap Haptic Interface)

Stanford University, 2001 - $11,500

According to research and marketing firm CyberEdge, the virtual reality market was valued at $24 billion in 2000 and is expected to grown by more than 50% each year this decade. To be a part of that growth, this E-Team from Stanford University developed a Cheap Haptic Interface (CHI) system that provided a cheap technology for a multitude of uses.

A haptic interface is a design technique that allows people to use their sense of touch to interact with remote or virtual environments on computers. The user of this type of system can "touch" objects simulated on a personal computer by interacting in real life with motors, like small robots, or other physical devices. By grasping one of the limbs of the robot, the user can exchange information with the PC and move the position of objects in the interface. The technology has several potential applications, such as making computers more accessible for people with disabilities, training people for tasks requiring hand-eye coordination (such as surgery), and playing games.

IMPACT Indicator

Stanford University, 2001 - $14,000

Shoes should be replaced when they can no longer provide adequate cushioning; using a shoe beyond its useful life greatly increases the user's risk of impact-related injuries. The Impact Indicator, developed by this Stanford University E-Team, is incorporated into a shoe and monitors use of the shoe and displays its remaining life. The concept is similar to that of the Oral-B Indicator found on toothbrushes, but for running shoes.

The indicator system consists of mechanical hardware, and electronics and software, which reside on a microprocessor. A signal is produced when the user's foot compresses the cushioning mechanism in the sole of the shoe with each step. Runners and other active persons who rely on their shoe equipment to be in top shape can use this product to ensure they are using a safe shoe. The team filed for an international patent and researched a sticker-sized version of the product for distribution directly to the consumer.

IMPACT Indicator

Stanford University, 1999 - $12,500

A running shoe exceeds its useful life and should be replaced when it no longer provides adequate cushioning. One of the major problems runners have is impact-related injury due to worn out shoes. The IMPACT Indicator is a monitor incorporated into a shoe that calculates the use of the shoe and displays its remaining life. The IMPACT Indicator prevents impact-related injuries that arise from using a shoe after it has worn out. The current model uses sensors on the toe and heel of the shoe, and a touch of a button indicates how much life is left in the shoe.

Both the consumer and the manufacturer benefit from the Indicator. The device can help reduce the number of injuries to runners and encourage consumers to purchase more shoes. The athletic shoe market is $14.7 billion annually, with the running shoe market comprising 16%.

The E-Team includes a graduate Product Design student at Stanford and an MBA student at the University of Texas at Austin. The team has support from a Product Design faculty member and two industry mentors, including a board certified sports medicine doctor.

Cool technology file: the MarrowMiner

Submitted by dave on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 13:56

More than just a great name, the MarrowMiner may revolutionize, in terms of efficiency and cost, the harvesting of bone marrow and the stem cells bone marrow contains.

Inventor Daniel Kraft recently described the MarrowMiner at a TED seminar. Watch the video here.

In 2002, the NCIIA funded a Stanford University E-Team to develop a new device for harvesting marrow - the MarrowMiner. As the company StemCor Systems, the team has moved the MarrowMiner into clinical trials.

 

 

Find out about Stanford University's biodesign fellowships

Submitted by dave on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 09:08

Stanford University will host an informational session on its biodesign fellowship program on Monday, September 28. The session will be held 6-7:30 pm in the Clark Center Auditorium.

Read more about the session here.

Request more information.

A Medical Device to Treat Gallstone Disease

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Stanford University, 2009 - $18,968

Biliary colic is a condition in which a gallstone becomes lodged at the gallbladder outlet, and, if left untreated, can cause severe and life-threatening infections. The most common treatment for this disease is surgical removal of the gallbladder, but due to a high risk of complications in the elderly and critically ill, surgery is not a viable option for over 200,000 patients per year. Instead, they're treated with conservative management, which is often unsuccessful. This E-Team is looking to develop a safe and effective alternative for these patients, as well as the large numbers of patients in developing countries where surgery isn’t an option. Since the gallbladder in patients with stones is actually normal and the stones are harmless provided they are kept away from the outlet, the team has developed a novel stainless steel filter device to prevent stones from reaching the outlet. The filter is delivered through a catheter and expands after deployment. Radial force holds the filter in place. The geometry of the filter prevents stones larger than two millimeters from passing.

Xtracycle

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Stanford University, 1998 - $8,100

Recipient of two NCIIA grants, the Xtracycle E-Team developed a cargo bicycle conversion kit that transforms a standard bike into a "sport utility bicycle," or SUB. The kit stretches out the rear wheel behind the seat, creates a big, stable platform on top of the rear wheel for a load or a passenger, and places expandable saddlebags on either side. The bike is still lightweight and fast because the load is centered between the wheels, helping fill the void between large, cumbersome utility tricycles and small, ineffective racks and bags. Its versatility and performance make it ideal for hauling loads that were previously considered too long, too heavy, or too fragile to be transported by bicycle, from surfboards to passengers to groceries.

The team evolved from a group of students at Stanford into Xtracycle LLC (xtracycle.com), a manufacturer, educator, and vehicle for social change. The company promotes their proprietary designs as boundary-pushing bicycles and soul-satisfying alternatives to automobile dependence. Profits from Xtracycle support Worldbike (worldbike.org), a non-profit organization that seeks to make their technology available to people in developing countries.

Both companies are targeting sustainable transportation as their ultimate goal.

Global Health by Design

Stanford University, 2006 - $37,500

This grant supports the Global Health by Design (GHbD) project, an innovation fellowship that will address world health challenges through medical device design at Stanford University. The fellowship will be a collaboration between anthropology, engineering, medicine, public health, international economic policy, and business. The fellowship is built on the assumption that, in order to create and disseminate effective medical technologies in developing countries, the process needs to take place within sustainable businesses and industries in those same countries.

NCIIA funding is going toward cross-institution planning, which will take place for one year and include: choosing a host country, making connections with key colleagues in that country to facilitate the clinical immersion of the fellows, and finding partners in the host country to actualize the business plan and fund raising. GHbD will recruit four fellows, one of whom might be from the host country, and will train the fellows through a six-week boot camp that will include classroom lectures on health care, background on needs identification, information on basic biomedical technologies, an introduction to intellectual property, health care regulation, and basic health care technology economics. Fellows will travel to the host country in September for a three-month immersion, during which they will participate in the local health care delivery system and identify at least 250 clinical needs. On returning to Stanford, the fellows will process the clinical needs, conduct extensive research on forty of them, develop a detailed written profile of the clinical background, and present the profile to a faculty from the host country. Following this, fellows will invent several solutions to each problem. The solutions will be evaluated for technical feasibility, practicality, cost and manufacturability. Students from the Biodesign Innovation Class will further develop these concepts and GHbD fellows will serve as TAs for the course.
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