May 2023 Showcase

Emily DeFraites, Elisa Gomez de Lope, Enrique “Kike” Gutierrez, Danielle Harper, and Amar Mandavia

Our project will build a youth-friendly audio device that can record language and vocal acoustic samples of the validated “Story Game” in CHR youth and which utilizes an NLP algorithm to score the speech on 14 predictive variables to provide an output assessment report for clinicians about the child’s risk of developing a psychotic disorder within two years.

Our device will collect information in a 30-40 min interview and the device will automatically score the language and provide the clinician with a same day report. We predict this report can be used in conjunction with SIPS and/or Polygenic Risk scores to enhance prediction of CHR→Psychotic Disorders by 15%.

In general, increasing specificity of which CHR youth will progress to psychosis will allow the testing and implementation of targeted therapeutic and novel pharmacological interventions to ameliorate (and ideally prevent) the negative functional and social outcomes of adult psychotic illness.

Halimat Afolabi, Amar Mandavia, Tom Rust, and Vimig Socrates

The maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 2.6 times the rate for non-Hispanic White women in 2021. Black women with preeclampsia experience a 5x increased risk of maternal mortality compared to white women.

Currently, efforts to address this involve implementing care coordination systems that include cellular-enabled BP cuffs, nurse check-ins, AND/OR medication courier services. These efforts have been shown to successfully mitigate racial disparities in monitoring for hypertensive risk but not in reducing morbidity. This approach fails due to inconsistencies between the time-to-diagnosis and treatment as a result of a lack of centralized care coordination and integration of these interventions.

We aim to improve an intervention bundle that decreases the time and cost to treating postpartum preeclampsia, that accomplishes a 80% reduction in hospital readmissions and ED admissions due to hypertension in the 6 weeks following delivery, by providing a service that provides integrative care coordination for providers to monitor and patient to manage their own postpartum hypertension (i.e. BP cuff linked to decision support tool, clinical overwatch, on-demand health education, and pre-prescribed antihypertensive medication) for known and new patients at increased risk for postpartum hypertension.

Paul Albear, Laura Bajor, Javier Cubas, Nathali Lizerbram, Keiran “Keir” Warner, and Lina Williamson

The manual entry of descriptive data (Braden Scale, Skin Inspection) that is currently used to determine risk for HAPIs is disjointed and does not account for other factors (imaging, protein level, vitals) that can cause someone to be at higher risk. There is a need for a centralized platform for determining those patients that are at a higher risk of developing HAPIs which if used would lead to better allocation of preventative treatments and resources, leading to a cost savings of at least 30%.

Halimat Afolabi, Laura Bajor, Elisa Gomez de Lope, and Enrique “Kike” Gutiérrez

Approximately 13,000,000 Americans live with PTSD. The majority of these individuals experience sleep problems which, due to downstream effects on cognition, energy, and mood, interfere not only with quality of life but also ability to participate and successfully complete treatments that could lead to resolution.

The intent of this project is to improve treatment of PTSD-related sleep problems through innovative leveraging of technology to include wearable devices, data analytics, and decision support tools. We will use objective data collected from wearables as inputs to a platform that will consolidate and analyze that data into a format useful to patients and providers and communicate it to them within a decision support tool that facilitates collaboration toward choosing the most appropriate evidence-based pharmaceutical and behavioral interventions for that individual’s situation.

By successfully addressing sleep disturbance within PTSD and facilitating the ability to participate in treatment leading to resolution of the condition, we aim to help in preventing onset of conditions associated with chronic poor sleep and other PTSD symptoms (cardiac, neurologic, metabolic and other effects) thus improving quality of life and saving financial and other resources on a systems-level.

Paul Albear, Javier Cubas, Nathali Lizerbram, and Lina Williamson

Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) are costly for hospitals due to both the preventive work carried out by nurses and the treatment costs if prevention fails. While beds and mattresses designed to prevent HAPIs can reduce their incidence and facilitate nurses’ work, their high cost limits accessibility for patients. This problem can be addressed by developing affordable high-performance mattresses and beds to reduce both the incidence of HAPIs and nursing workload.

Quadriplegic patients in spinal cord units experience higher HAPI rates that cannot be eliminated solely by rotating patients. Therefore, HAPI-preventing beds and mattresses are crucial for controlling factors that influence HAPI development.

To achieve prevention of HAPIs, an open-pored foam mattress is proposed that can obtain high peak pressure reduction and increased control of the skin’s microclimate through the continuous flow of pressurized air forced through the foam. The objective is to replicate most of the features of group 2 and 3 beds/mattresses for HAPI prevention, such as pressure reduction and microclimate control for a fraction of the current cost ($5,000).

Alexandra Buscher, Aparna Repaka, and Zack Buono

Left thumb injuries are some of the most commonly reported endoscopy related repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in gastroenterologists. Left thumb activity and force levels required to manipulate the dials on the control section of the colonoscope have been shown to exceed ACGIH HAL-TLV safety limits. Such high physical exposures are associated with repetitive stress injuries such as de Quervain’s tenosynovitis (colonoscopist’s thumb). With increasing demand for colonoscopy procedures and increasing complexity, there is a need to address these occupational injury concerns. Our solution is an “add-on” device which mechanizes the endoscope dial movements thereby reducing the high physical exposures of the left thumb. This can reduce thumb exertion and pain among physicians currently experiencing pain in the short term, and potentially prevent injuries in others in the long term.

Lola Baird, Mark Drinkwater, Natrina Johnson

Currently in the VA, when a consult is ordered for mental health services, the intake coordinator invests an immense amount of time gathering the necessary information to schedule the Veterans with the most appropriate mental health clinic. This often results in delayed care for veterans, and veterans’ sometimes don’t get connected to mental health. The goal of the MH Access project is to develop a clinical decision support tool that will collect relevant information from EHR, referring provider, about the veteran being referred so the intake coordinators can more efficiently triage patients and get Veterans seen for mental health as soon as possible.

Mark Drinkwater, Alison, Quinn, Jason Ramirez, and Taylor Wahlig

Low participation in drug disposal results in the accumulation of millions of unused opioid pills in the community, putting people at risk of addiction and adverse events. Our project aims to develop a pill bottle that automatically inactivates unused opioids, reducing the amount of unused opioids available for misuse, abuse, and diversion.

Ian Butterworth

Staying hydrated is critical for everyone, and it gets harder with age. The consequences of poor hydration are severe and surprisingly common, especially among the elderly. The Hydration team is designing a technology to help the elderly and their caregivers track hydration status, helping to prevent problems and intervene swiftly when necessary.

Ravi Rasalingam & Tarsha Ward

Unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are increasing, despite public awareness campaigns. Condom use, shown to be an effective response, is hampered by negative perceptions of decreased pleasure and sexual performance. To increase condom use, the Barrier team focused on behavioral and user experience considerations and is developing a novel condom applicator that facilitates efficient, effective application and penile stimulation during condom placement.

Ravi Rasalingam & Tarsha Ward

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common, chronic health condition that is prevalent and underdiagnosed, lead to daytime fatigue and drowsiness and are associated with serious health consequences such as hypertension, heart failure, motor vehicle accidents and premature death. Current treatments are underutilized because they’re cumbersome and uncomfortable. The OSA team is developing a novel, comfortable solution that will make compliance easier and more effective.