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20140085 – A nanocarrier platform has been designed to deliver proteins and nucleic acids to cells with high efficiency and spatial and temporal control. The platform provides an efficient and safe alternative to transfection methods and can effectively deliver cargo to delicate human stem cells. The system utilizes hollow gold nanoshells (HGN) conjugated to cell penetrating peptides. The cargo... Read More
20150007 – Modifying existing shapewear by adding soft, structural support bands along the back provides comfortable yet effective postural improvement. While most shapewear currently available offers little posture support, the proposed product features flexible bands inserted in various configurations along the back. These bands provide better posture support for spine and shoulder alignment and a... Read More
20140084 – A new drug delivery system has been invented that can optimize both drug retention and drug delivery within the patient. The system includes hollow gold nanoshells (HGNs) chemically tethered to temperature-sensitive liposomes, and utilizes near infrared light (NIR) lasers to heat the liposomes and release drug. NIR laser intensity can be controlled to increase liposome permeability in a... Read More
20130341 – Disc-shaped nanovehicles have been developed to diagnose and treat cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The nanovehicles may be able to act as a diagnostic probe, to help relieve symptoms caused by cerebrovascular inflammation, and to promote Aβ plaque removal in the brain. The 200nm, disc-shaped nanovehicles consist of a polymeric core that contains... Read More
20150194 – HerdIn:Form(er) is a web based mobile questionnaire developed for collecting epidemiological information on livestock in the field. HerdIn:Form(er) data is temporarily stored by a mobile device and can be submitted to another system for analysis. The questions and code can be easily adapted to collect the appropriate information for the disease that will be modeled. This tool is... Read More
20140249 – Iron oxide nanoparticles are being widely investigated for use in a variety of biomedical applications, but their potential has been limited due to their inability to maintain structural integrity under certain biological conditions. Aggregation, degradation and colloidal stability are a few problems that affect the robustness of the inner core of iron oxide nanoparticles. Coating... Read More
tolar – Dr. Jakub Tolar is a distinguished McKnight Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Blood and Marrow Transplantation and the Director of the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute. His research focuses on stem cell therapy for patients with lethal diseases—cancer, inborn errors of metabolism, and devastating genetic disorders. Dr. Tolar looks for safer and more effective methods of... Read More
20140173 – Traditional crankshafts are machined from a single casting. They cannot be modified after production and are not easily adapted to new configurations when the application changes. While other split crankshaft designs exist, they require pressfit pins or hard to access hardware. A modular crankshaft design has been created that allows for the use of roller bearings and crank pin for... Read More
20160271-20110213 – An imaging device based on the variable near infrared (VNIR) Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) system can be used for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The device combines conventional imaging with spectrophotometry to create pixel-level spectral quantification of a sample. The HSI system is non-invasive; imaging samples are obtained through a simple retinal scan that doesn’t require... Read More
blazar – Dr. Bruce Blazar is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and serves as Chair of the National Institutes of Health Cancer Immunopathology and Immunotherapy Study Section and as a member of several national committees. He has been recognized for his pioneering work in the development of novel immune-based therapies. Dr. Blazar’s research involves the... Read More
20140295 – A device to measure anesthesia-induced neuromuscular blockade during the perioperative state (pre-operative, operative, post-operative, and recovery) has been developed. The device, called the BlockAid Patch, combines two electrodes and one sensor into a single, disposable adhesive patch. The patch delivers stimuli to the targeted muscle group and outputs the muscle response as a... Read More
20150081 – Through use of an open-source commodity computing platform Apache Hadoop, and an extension labeled Spatial Hadoop, it is possible to perform spatial analysis on large quantities of location and GPS data. Please Note: SpatialHadoop has been adopted by the Eclipse Foundation under the name GeoJinni. Today’s availability of big data sets brings high demand for computational power.... Read More
20150246 – The 4-H at the Minnesota State Fair mobile app was developed to keep the mobile fair-goer up to date with all 4-H events, locations, and judging results during the course of the fair via any mobile device. Available for both Android and Apple devices, the 4-H at the Minnesota State Fair app boasts a slick, user-friendly interface. Features include a full schedule of all 4-H events with... Read More
ri – The Rothenberger Institute (RI) within the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota specializes in developing and delivering online wellness courses for college students and students preparing for the transition to college. By leveraging innovative learning technologies, behavior change theory, and peer education, RI courses engage students and help them develop healthy... Read More
20140258 – A method to align nanowires uses rotational shear forces and can eliminate high-investment equipment and while introducing a flexible design for scalability. The mechanical shear alignment process allows for any type of unidirectional nanowire or nanotube to be aligned. ** View the Term Sheet ** ** Contact Kevin Nickels for specific details. ** By combining a nanowire... Read More
z08184-z09174-20120109-20150023 – Advances in organic photovoltaic efficiency provide the opportunity to drive the solar cell industry into specific applications in the mainstream energy market. Several University of Minnesota technologies address this huge market opportunity. ** View the Term Sheet ** ** Contact Kevin Nickels for specific details. ** Organic photovoltaic (OPV) efficiency, which is currently... Read More
z08184 – An advance in solar cell construction utilizes a metallic cathode and patterned anode to define a plasmonic cavity containing the organic photovoltaic layers. The tunable cavity confines surface plasmons generated by incident light within the organic photovoltaic layers in order to enhance photoconversion efficiency. Rather than using ‘gold standard’ indium tin oxide (ITO) as a... Read More
20140141 – Small molecule inhibitors of beta-catenin (β-catenin) have been created to treat colorectal cancer (CRC). The new small molecule inhibitors have shown no obvious side effects unlike current treatments for CRC, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, biological therapy, or a combination of these treatments, which can result have serious side effects. In the United States, CRC is the... Read More
20140299 – It has been determined that circulating breast cancer cells differentially express a specific type of membrane protein, and have developed immune reagents that bind selectively to this protein. These reagents could be used for more effective detection of breast cancer circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and could also help develop methods to deliver therapeutic agents to metastatic cancer... Read More
20150057 – The most common malignant symptom of incontinence is skin damage or dermatitis. The buttocks, hips, and thighs are especially prone to skin breakdown when exposed to the moisture and chemicals in incontinence fluids. Skin damage prevention involves careful hygiene in the affected regions, but treatment is an involved process that depends on the severity of the skin damage. There exists a... Read More
ruan – Dr. Ruan is a professor in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering. He is interested in non-thermal processing of food and non-invasive and non-destructive tools for food analysis and is involved with the management and utilization of waste. His research projects include: Technologies available for licensing: Ammonia Production without Molecular Hydrogen Learn... Read More
kortshagen – Dr. Kortshagen is a professor and the head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His interests focus on plasma processes for advanced technological applications and renewable energy technology. His research team is involved with: Technologies available for licensing: Liquid-Phase Deposition of Silicon Nanocrystal Films Learn more about Dr. Kortshagen and his research: ... Read More
roumeliotis – Dr. Roumeliotis is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. His research interests include distributed estimation under processing and communication constraints, active sensing for reconfigurable networks of sensors, and vision-aided inertial navigation for space, aerial, and ground vehicles, as well as mobile devices. His projects include: Technologies... Read More
jwang – Dr. Wang is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research involves nano magnetism and quantum spintronics and finding new applications for these technologies in the biomedical field. His projects include: Technologies available for licensing: Magnetic Tunnel Junction without Sense Amplifiers Other technologies: Iron Nitride Permanet Magnet GMR... Read More
ugurbil – Dr. Ugurbil’s lab was one of two that independently introduced magnetic resonance imaging of neuronal activity in the human brain (known as fMRI). He continues to develop methods and instrumentation capable of obtaining high resolution and high accuracy functional information in the human brain, targeting neuronal organizations at the level of cortical columns and layers. He produced the... Read More
zhang – Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on developing nonnatural biosynthetic pathways to produce biofuels, bulk chemicals and pharmaceuticals from renewable resources. This is necessary to ensure that the petroleum-derived materials that the world depends on continue to be available. His research group is working on cost-effective methods that are sustainable and green to expand the metabolic... Read More
20150056 – The Online Global Health Course prepares today’s medical professional to practice medicine and public health in an increasingly mobile world. With more than one billion people crossing international boundaries annually, every clinician, regardless of location of practice must be familiar with working across cultures and with infections and diseases in an increasing diverse world. In... Read More
hillmyer – Dr. Hillmyer's Research Group investigates the design, synthesis, and applications of multifunctional polymeric materials. New synthetic methodologies is a focus, along with morphology, property control and identifying detailed structure/property relationships in a broad range of macromolecular materials. Their research works to combine contemporary polymer synthesis with detailed molecular,... Read More
karypis – Dr. Karypis' research is best described as algorithm engineering. Professor Karypis' research interests concentrate on bioinformatics, cheminformatics, data mining, and high-performance computing. He has examined various problems in the areas of information retrieval, collaborative filtering, and electronic design automation for VLSI CAD. Within these areas, his research focuses on developing... Read More
20140204 – Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) typically use a cobalt compound as the cathode material. Cobalt oxides are relatively expensive and scarce. An innovative zirconate-based cathode material developed at the University of Minnesota has the potential to have significantly higher charge capacity than cobalt based cathodes. Lithium zirconate (Li8ZrO6) is generally far less expensive than cobalt... Read More
20130206 – The Criticality Spatial Analysis (CRISTAL) corporate risk software instantly traces products across multiple companies, identifying specific points in the system that are at risk of failure. The technology was developed by the National Center for Food Protection and Defense for performing corporate food traceability. By documenting parallel systems (i.e. food, water, chemicals,... Read More
20130253 – A dental implant support compound has been designed for use in dental implant surgery to reduce the cases of peri-implantitis in patients with bony defects and unstable or low-quality bone. This fast-setting, osteoconductive compound is made of calcium sulfate, allogeneic bone particles, bone morphogenic protein and an antimicrobial material. When the powder phase of the compound is mixed... Read More
20140168 – An innovative sleeve design that attaches over a transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probe improves control and allows the operator to maintain a steady grip. Associated buttons are embedded on the sleeve to enable control of a diagnostic ultrasound system. A holder clamps onto the probe to hold it in place via attachment to a surgical bed or mobile cart. A carrier serves as a storage... Read More
20110125 – Statistical software that detects structural variations such as large insertions and deletions in short segments (reads) of DNA, can be used to diagnose cancer. Structural variations in short segments (reads) of DNA occur in complex diseases, such as cancer. To use these variations in diagnoses, the process of reading the DNA segments needs to be fast and inexpensive. The fast mapping... Read More
20130255 – A new, versatile reagent can make dual, simultaneous site-specific protein modifications in one reaction and a wide range of conjugates, including protein-protein, protein-nucleotide, protein polymers, and protein-small molecule couplings. The reagent uses the enzyme PFTase, which is small, specific, and fast acting. The reagent is non-toxic and allows nearby biological processes to... Read More
20130141 – The Sanfilippo Behavior Rating Scale questionnaire can define Sanfilippo syndrome behavior along a specific pattern and progression of behavioral symptoms. Currently, there is no scale specifically for the disease. Sanfilippo syndrome (also known as Mucopolysaccharidosis type III) is a genetic neurological disease which manifests early in life, generally ending in death in adolescence... Read More
z02049-z01174-99186 – Electronic light detectors can be used to image and/or map biological samples and for DNA chip analysis. In contrast to conventional biological imaging techniques, this method scans across the sample and detects multiple images constructed from light emitted by the biological sample. The detector may be a linear charged-couple device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor which gathers slices of... Read More
20140194-20150025 – Given the emphasis put on empirical evidence in modern science, scientific datasets are a huge component of publications and research documents. Much of this data is useful to future studies, and needs proper data annotation so that the datasets can be found in an online search. Unfortunately, most datasets lack annotations and context that facilitate searching. The need for proper... Read More
20130174 – A position sensor system has been designed that models the movement of an object based on the fluctuations in the magnetic field surrounding it. Based upon the distance between the sensor and the object, the magnetic field strength and direction will be unique. For example, in a free-piston engine the piston can be modeled and calibrated magnetically with this measuring device. The... Read More
20130323 – A fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay method for monitoring and testing the interactions between protein molecules in a high-throughput sample setting has been developed. The FRET system is able to test pharmaceuticals by attaching fluorescent derivatives to pairs of targeted proteins and mixing these with the drug that is being researched. This FRET method is applicable... Read More
20130273 – Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a new pacing protocol without feedback to prevent alternans formation and subsequently ventricular fibrillation (VF). This pacing protocol was tested using a physiological ionic model of cardiac myocyte, in the presence or absence of heart rate variability (HRV). They also incorporated the effects of short-term memory on diastolic... Read More
20130267 – A reliable method to identify potato varieties that resist cold-induced sweetening (CIS) has been developed. Researchers characterized multiple biomarkers of 400 different potato varieties to create this diagnostic test. With this test, companies can predict the CIS characteristics of harvested or stored potatoes, allowing for timely potato use. Using potato varieties that resist CIS can... Read More
20140059 – The next generation of non-immunoglobulin based (i.e. non-antibody) protein scaffolds for use in immunotherapies and medical diagnostics has been developed. The protein scaffolds are smaller and more stable than comparable antibody scaffolds, which improves their physiological distribution. Additionally, these scaffolds bind with high affinity to their targets and can be easily customized... Read More
20140124 – A system that monitors parking availability in parking lots has been developed. It uses a 3-dimensional camera method and is robust under all weather conditions. It is highly effective in accounting for vehicular occlusion which happens often in parking facilities with large vehicles. Detection of vehicles in real-world lighting (accounting for reflections and shadows) is a dramatic... Read More
20140226 – A user behavior modelling algorithm has been developed that acknowledges a user’s changing preferences on sites where users experience many pieces of successive media and adjusts the recommendations accordingly. How much time does it take to bore a customer with the same “reliable” recommendations? How long will it take for a certain recommendation to finally pique the interest of a user?... Read More
20140120 – An open-source PostgreSQL-embedded system has been produced that creates and processes user-item preference matrices from within the database itself. This database application, RecDB, provides a solution by eliminating the wasteful online-offline transition step common to most recommendation systems located outside the database. The SQL language involved is simple and designed to easily... Read More
20140083 – An algorithm has been designed to maximize clicks in a search engine result page. It measures the incongruity of a given text segment (i.e. how unrelated and rare the terms are within the segment). In the utility of a search algorithm, the method utilizes a user’s cookies and browser history to further refine its prediction of what the user will find interesting based on search terms. It... Read More
20130100 – A recent breakthrough in MRI data imaging overcomes the poor spatial correlation between MRI findings in slices and arthroscopic images and allows MRI to be used as a diagnostic tool for cartilage injury. A current trend in orthopedic surgery is to focus on joint preservation by repairing torn cartilage before osteoarthritis and irreversible damage occurs, causing long-term joint pain and... Read More
20140196 – A method of creating a scalable block copolymer from a new branched lactone monomer has been developed. The new lactone monomer is generated from direct fermentation of sugar. The biobased monomer, when copolymerized with lactide, has many utilities and its mechanical properties (i.e. stretchiness, strength) can be tuned depending on the application requirements. Sugar (glucose) is one... Read More
20130046 – Hydrogen extraction from wastewater for use as energy is possible with a recent University of Minnesota innovation. The system includes a membrane laden with hydrogen-generating bacteria. The hydrogen is then passed into hollow fibers for removal and can be utilized by fuel cells for energy production. The process does not require costly wastewater aeration at the time of disposal, is... Read More
