2011 Collegiate Inventors Competition Finalists

Graduate Finalists

Jae-Won Shin
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Label-Free Enrichment of Rare Blood Cells Via a Novel Engineered Bone Marrow Vascular Niche
Advisor: Dennis E. Discher

An easy-to-use, low cost, biologically inspired device that models the soft vascular microenvironment in bone marrow to isolate important rare blood cells, including blood-forming stem cells, and platelet-producing megakaryocytes, for both research and clinical purposes in regenerative medicine.

Deok-Ho Kim and Kshitiz
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Cardiac Stem Cell Patch
Advisor: Andre Levchenko

The nanopatterned cardiac stem cell graft is a specially designed biodegradable technique to improve heart repair after an infarct without fear of cell rejection by the patient. It uses special techniques to isolate the patient's own stem cells from the heart and uses modern nanotechnology to mimic the structure of the heart tissue in the biodegradable graft to increase cell engraftment and heart repair.

Albert Mach
University of California, Los Angeles
Isolation of Rare Cancer Cells
Advisor: Dino Di Carlo

The Centrifuge Chip uses cutting-edge microfluidic technology that can perform all of the operations attributed to a benchtop centrifuge, including high-throughput cell concentration, size-based cell sorting and solution exchange.   This centrifuge-analogue technology offers an automated and rapid solution for the isolation of viable circulating tumor cells from peripheral human blood, which may be clinically useful as a blood-based biopsy test.

Paul Loschak, Hao Pei, and Kechao Xiao
Harvard University
Cranial Drilling Device
Advisor: Conor Walsh

This invention is a handheld, portable, and safe cranial drilling device that can create holes in the skull without endangering underlying brain tissue.  The drill relies on a dynamic bi-stable mechanism that supports drilling against rigid bone but retracts inside a protective sheath after penetrating the skull.

Kyle Allison
Boston University
Metabolite-Mediated Elimination of Bacterial Persisters
Advisor: James J. Collins

This invention is a combination therapy utilizing specific metabolites and the aminoglycoside class of antibiotics to effectively kill persistent bacteria.

Julio D'Arcy
University of California, Los Angeles
A Universal Coating Solution to Thin-Film Deposition
Advisor: Richard Kaner

A thin-film is a flat, conducting, and transparent architecture that is essential to the fabrication of electronic devices such as solar cells, transistors, and sensors. This invention is a universal and green solution to thin-film deposition that leads to high quality and large scale continuous coatings of organic and inorganic electronic materials in a matter of seconds.

Undergraduate Finalists

Elizabeth Asai, Nickolas Demas, and Elliot Swart
Yale University
3Derm
Advisor: Vince Wilcyznski

This invention is a handheld imaging device for taking 3-D, high-definition images of skin lesions or other abnormalities in the clinic or at home and, through a proprietary web interface, allows doctors to remotely access the images for more efficient patient care.

James Lee, Colin Mitchell, Meghan Moore,
and Lauren Riesenberg
University of Cincinnati
Blinx
Advisor: Mary Beth Privitera

The BLINX device applies topical electrical stimulation to the muscle around the eyes, inducing a normal blink to maintain hydration of the eyes.    BLINX will be used to prevent corneal damage in [pediatric] patients in intensive care.

Jessica Ashmead and Annicka Carter
University of Utah
OptiGuide
Advisor: Holly Holman

The OptiGuide is a an easy-to-use medical retractor equipped with a planar waveguide and LED lighting system fit for optimal illumination of a surgical cavity.

Ryan Chang, Steven Dalvin, Akshay Krishnaswamy, and James Lin
Johns Hopkins University
QuanTube
Advisor: Gerard E. Mullin

QuanTube is the first replacement gastric feeding device that is specifically designed for non-specialist use. Upon failure of an initially installed feeding tube, QuanTube gives patients the benefits of immediate on-site care, increased durability, and drastically improved comfort.

Patrick Cassidy, Sean Heyrman, Alexander Johnson, and Anthony Sprangers
University of Wisconsin - Madison
BarrierASAP
Advisor: John Puccinelli

Ablation is an increasingly common way to treat cancerous lesions; however, it frequently requires a spacer to protect surrounding healthy tissue in an operation called hydrodissection. To prevent this spacer from flowing away during the procedure, this team developed a thermoreversible fluid that is injected as a liquid and forms a solid gel at body temperature, providing stable protection to healthy tissue.