Medical Devices & Systems, Diagnostics,
Biodetectors & Sensors, Imaging, Neurotechnology

The technology is a new disposable electrochemical biosensor for the detection of biomolecules at point-of-care (POC) applications at reduced costs. The device is portable and measures the concentration of an analyte in fluid. The device has been tested for the detection of cortisol in biological fluids.

APPLICATIONS

• Portable device for point-of-care applications for quantitative antibody based assays.
• Help in detection of diseases or assessing the likelihood of developing Addison’s disease, Cushing’s syndrome, adrenal insufficiencies, psychological stress or posttraumatic stress disorder.

The system reads data from existing electrocardiography (ECG) equipment to automatically compute and deliver an electromagnetic pulse to the brain at the best time and optimal intensity.

APPLICATIONS

This brain magnetic stimulation can be used for administering electromagnetic stimulations for the treatment of depression, Alzheimer’s disease, migraine headaches, autism, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other neurological disorders. Additionally, this technology can be used for brain mapping of the eloquent cortex for pre-surgical evaluations.

This technology provides a system of methods embodied in a novel decoder which will translate neural activity into motor intent output.

APPLICATIONS

• Control of neural prostheses and neural driven appliances.
• Ability to use decoded signals to interact with virtual environments (e.g. computers).
• Neural interfaces capable of recording nerve activity for control of prostheses.
• A model system to assess motor and neuron function during nerve stimulation and regional anesthesia application.
• As a means to decode electromyogram (EMG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity for the purpose of control of powered appliances.

Technology provides methods, software and devices to fit a prosthetic hand with sensors to one or more electrodes implanted close to the sensory fibers in the peripheral nerves to the patient individual needs.

APPLICATIONS

This fitting system is to be used for any neural enabled prosthetic hand system.

The technology is a novel hand-held based optical imager with capabilities of automated co-registration on any tissue volume and curvature for real time surface imaging. Furthermore, the implementation of user-friendly coregistration software provides a method for performing 3D tomography studies using the hand-held device.

APPLICATIONS

• Breast Cancer Diagnosis & Prognosis
• Functional Brain Mapping
• Drug Deliver
• Detection of tissue hemorrhages
• Lie detection Applications

FIU inventors have developed a simple label-free, fast and cost effective sensing absorbance based optical detection technique for cortisol sensing using ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diodes (LED). The technology can be used in a variety of low-power electronics for wearable applications. It allows the incorporation of microfluidic systems into the optical sensor for enhanced point-of-care (POC) applications.

APPLICATIONS

• Monitor cortisol level for personal health monitoring and diagnosis with POC detection

This technology uses an inexpensive hardware-software assimilated design to analyze the effectiveness of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) on patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other related disorders before, during and after the stimulation-based treatment.

APPLICATIONS

• The system can be used for analysis and practical sessions using the non-invasive brain stimulation.
• The system allows for the appropriate intensity and repetition rate of stimulation while continuously monitoring the tremor signals under patient-specific biofeedback sessions. The behavior of the deflections of the tremor signals in response to TMS could predict and assess the reliability of subsequent treatment.
• Tool to encourage patients to seek early interventions and treatments.

An invention aimed at improving the quality of life for individuals that suffer from the common visual impairments associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma. The purpose of this technology is to capitalize on the remaining functional areas of the retina found in AMD and glaucoma patients allowing them to visualize complete images of the world similarly to how a normal eye would perceive them.

APPLICATIONS

• The technology is aimed at improving the vision of individuals who suffer from impaired central vision (AMD patients) and impaired peripheral vision (glaucoma patients).
• There are also possible applications in the military and defense sector.

In the past decade, there have been significant advances in development of neurotechnology to stimulate neural and muscle tissue to replace lost function due to neurological disability or neutoruma. Most often, a single lead is used to target a single stimulation site, for example for Vagal nerve stimulation. Researchers at FIU have developed a system to deploy multiple leads carrying one or more multiple electrodes such that each electrode is separable. This method eliminates several practical hurdles in the management of multiple electrode leads for development of therapies that require pacing, sensing, or both, of muscles or nerves innervating such muscles.

APPLICATIONS

A multi-lead multi-electrode system is able to deploy multiple separable electrodes to various distant contact sites, such as nerve or muscle tissues that are spatially distributed over a large area. Some possible uses include sensing or pacing or simultaneous sensing and pacing of affected muscles or nerves for treating gastric disorders, respiratory insufficiency and for bidirectional communication (recording motor commands and sensing sensory signals) with future neural prostheses.

Hand-held based optical imaging systems represent an alternative to the conventional bulky optical imaging systems, they may be limited by having only flat measuring probe heads that cannot conform to different tissue curvatures and may not be capable of performing three-dimensional tomographic studies.

FIU technology allows creating a 3D mesh representing a 3D object using two probes of an imaging system. The flexible probes conform to the shape of the 3D object, illuminate the object at a face of each probe head, and receive the light reflected from and/or transmitted through the 3D object at the surface of the object using a detection system.

APPLICATIONS

• Tissue imaging
• Tumor diagnostics

This technology is used for hemodynamic imaging, pulse monitoring, and mapping spatio-temporal features. The scanner developed at FIU can non-invasively provide hemodynamic changes over large tissues, as well as monitor pulse at every point in the imaged region; making it a visual oximeter.

APPLICATIONS

• Wound healing
• Monitoring ulcer treatments
• Assist in sports injuries, ischemia, peripheral vascular diseases

FIU inventors created four novel technologies that allow for functional imaging of the photoreceptors in the retina. The technologies can be used in the clinical setting to assess the structure and function of photoreceptors, specifically in the diagnosing, disease staging and follow up of retinal degenerative disorders, such as hereditary retinal degeneration and age-related age macular regeneration.

APPLICATIONS

The technology can be used by ophthalmology clinics, pharmaceutical companies and research laboratories for the assessment of the global and local functional status of photoreceptors in the retinas of the living subjects. It could also be used to diagnose retinal degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa.

Implantable medical devices such as stents can cause vessel damage and subsequently require repeated surgeries that may cause further damage. Materials currently being used in manufacturing of such devices are prone to corrosion, thrombus formation and are likely to release nickel ions which lead to necrosis. Magneto-electropolished (MEP) ternary Nitinol is a corrosion resistant material that is less likely to cause a clot caused by platelet adhesion, and less likely to release nickel ions. The biocompatibility and hemocompatibility of MEP ternary Nitinol makes it a viable substitute for the current materials used in implantable medical devices.

APPLICATIONS

MEP ternary Nitinol can be used to manufacture the blood contacting tube of the implantable intravenous access valve assembly and manufacture endovascular and other medical implants that come in contact with human blood.

Two products have been developed at FIU which are significant improvements over both open heart surgery, and other percutaneous Heart Valve (PHV) technologies. One product is a percutaneous artificial valve which has the beneficial properties of a natural tissue valve, while lacking the negative properties of a mechanical valve. The other is a catheter delivery system which can be used with any percutaneous valve.

APPLICATIONS

• Cardiology
• Medical Device

The technology can be used for direct measurements of secretions from living cells.  The FIU invention is a new concept of an in situ Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) biosensing system for realtime vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion study. Since the novel biosensor mimics the in vivo microenvironment of the biomarker signaling pathway, this platform possesses great potential for cellular signaling pathway studies and for antineoplastic drug development.

APPLICATIONS

This biosensor is capable of direct measurement of biomarker secretion from living cells. This platform can be used for cellular signaling pathway studies and for antineoplastic drug development. By modifying the surface functionality of the SPR assay, this biosensor might open up new horizons for the detection and analysis of biomarker from living cells and tissue for different diseases.

Although wireless power transfer (WPT) technology allows wireless power transfer to a receiver, the current WPT technology requires the receiver to be positioned in a specific site, thereby inhibiting the user of the senor from moving. To address this limitation, FIU inventors have designed novel smart clothes that wirelessly transfer power and communicate with a sensor attached on a human body. This technology provides wireless power transfer (WPT) and sensing capabilities at the same time.

APPLICATIONS

• Wearables, health, diagnostics

WPT often uses inductive power delivery, which is the use of non-radiating magnetic fields generated by a transmitter coil to induce a current in a receiver coil. Strongly coupled magnetic resonators systems have shown good efficiency and range, but they require a certain distance between the source and the resonators, and therefore occupy a significant volume.

FIU inventors have designed advantageous systems and methods for WPT that can operate at a lower operating frequency, extended WPT range and higher WPT efficiency.

APPLICATIONS

Can be used in the charging of mobile devices, implantable devices or sensors, embedded sensors for structural health monitoring of concrete structures and bridges, wearable devices and healthcare applications