Browse Technologies

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Steerable Needles: A Better Turning Radius with Less Tissue Damage

A team of Vanderbilt engineers and surgeons have developed a new steerable needle that can make needle based biopsy and therapy delivery more accurate. A novel flexure-based tip design provides enhanced steerability while simultaneously minimizing tissue damage. The present device is useful for almost any needle-based procedure including biopsy, thermal ablation, brachytherapy, and drug delivery.


Licensing Contact

Ashok Choudhury

615.322.2503

Adaptive PCR: A PCR control system to overcome challenging conditions

A PCR control system to overcome challenging conditions. By directly monitoring the hybridization of fluorescently labelled L-DNA mimics of the template DNA strands and primers, it is possible to improve the efficiency of PCR in challenging conditions. This approach eliminates some of the sample preparation and trial and error that would otherwise be required for difficult sample types such as urine or other samples that contain high levels of salts.  In addition, this approach enables on-demand PCR in most any environment.


Licensing Contact

Karen Rufus

615.322.4295
Research Reagent

Non-Invasive Skin Cancer Detection using Raman Spectroscopy-OCT System (Portfolio)

Vanderbilt University researchers have designed a system for non-invasive discrimination between normal and cancerous skin lesions. The system combines the depth-resolving capabilities of OCT technique with Raman Spectroscopy's specificity of molecular chemistry. By linking both imagining techniques into a single detector arm, the complexity, cost, and size of previously reported RS-OCT instruments have been significantly improved. The combined instrument is capable of acquiring data sets that allow for more thorough assessment of a sample than existing optical techniques.


Licensing Contact

Ashok Choudhury

615.322.2503

Systems and Methods for Optical Stimulation of Neural Tissues (Portfolio)

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a novel technique for contactless simulation of the central nervous system.  This involves the use of infrared neural stimulation (INS) to evoke the observable action potentials from neurons of the central nervous system.  While infrared neural stimulation of the peripheral nervous system was accomplished almost a decade ago, this is the first technique for infrared stimulation of the central nervous system. This technology has been protected by a portfolio of issued patents.


Licensing Contact

Ashok Choudhury

615.322.2503

MAESTRO: Non-Robotic Dexterous Laparoscopic Instrument with a Wrist providing seven degrees of freedom

Inventors at Vanderbilt University have developed a non-robotic dexterous laparoscopic manipulator with a wrist providing seven-degrees-of-freedom. The device has a novel user interface that intuitively maps motion of the surgeon's hands to the tool's "hands".


Licensing Contact

Ashok Choudhury

615.322.2503
Medical Devices

Continuum Robots with Equilibrium Modulation (CREM)

The A.R.M.A. Laboratory of Vanderbilt University has developed a novel continuum robot design enabling multi-scale motion at the macro and micro scale. The unique design allows miniaturization with minimal added cost thereby potentially giving rise to a new generation of surgical robots capable of both macro-motion for surgical intervention and micro-scale motion for cellular-level imaging or intervention. Micro-motion is achieved through a unique method for altering the equilibrium pose of the robot via material re-distribution throughout the length of the robot. This process ushers in a new class of surgical robotics termed continuum robots with equilibrium modulation (CREM).


Licensing Contact

Masood Machingal

615.343.3548
Medical Devices

Portfolio of Continuum Robotic Systems, Algorithms, and Software Technologies from the Robotics Lab of Professor Nabil Simaan

Professor Simaan and his lab have years of experiencing working collaboratively with commercial entities of various sizes. His research is focused on advanced robotics, mechanism design, control, and telemanipulation for medical applications. His projects have led the way in advancing several robotics technologies for medical applications including high dexterity, snake-like robots for surgery, steerable electrode arrays for cochlear implant surgery, robotics for single port access surgery, and natural orifice surgery.


Licensing Contact

Masood Machingal

615.343.3548
Medical Devices
Genitourinary

IntelliCane: Instrumented cane for diagnosis and evaluation of gait behavior in individuals with mobility issues.

This device is designed to assist physical therapists in collection of objective data during gait analysis, to facilitate appropriate assistive gait device prescription, to provide patients and therapists feedback during gait training, and to reduce wrist and shoulder injuries with cane usage.Currently gait characteristics are "measured" in a clinic-based atmosphere. This has two limitations: (i) subjective allocation of "measures" of gait characteristics and (ii) limited data based on trials in the clinic ONLY. What this technology is designed to do is achieve freedom from both of these limitations. The measurements are objective and numerical values (force etc.) and the clinic could provide the cane to the user for obtaining a much more extensive data set including use during normal life activities at home etc.


Licensing Contact

Masood Machingal

615.343.3548
Medical Devices

Transoral Lung Access Device

Transoral lung access is preferable to traditional needlebasedaccess due to the lower risk of lung collapse. However present bronchoscope-based devices enable access to only a small portion of the lung. The present device is a robotic image-guided bronchoscope to navigate the airway under closed-loop control to the target. IT is designed to provide transoral access to any location in the lung, particularly the hard-to-reach peripheral regions.


Licensing Contact

Ashok Choudhury

615.322.2503
Medical Devices

A Robotic System for Treating Intracranial Hemorrhage (ICH)

Vanderbilt researchers have designed a general purpose system for precise steering of multi-lumen needles. One significant application of the system is decompression of the cranium during hemorrhagic events (ICH).


Licensing Contact

Ashok Choudhury

615.322.2503