MIT Innovation Center Awards Emerging Technology Grants

The Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts today announced grants totaling $800,000 to 10 MIT research teams working on early-stage technologies. The Deshpande Center aims to act as a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship with grants that fund proof-of-concept explorations of emerging technologies.

The 10 selected projects cover technologies including materials, diagnostics, medical procedures, diabetes treatment, vision correction, high power electronics, solar energy efficiency, and software support. The funded projects include:

• A chip based, point-of-care diagnostics device for rapid results in clinical settings.
• A flexible paper-thin micro-electromechanical system array that can be used for sensing and actuation over large surfaces.
• A scalable method to eliminate bulk defects in commercial solar cell materials, including silicon blocks or wafers
• A drug delivery device to treat brain edema (swelling) with reduced systemic side-effects found in many conventional treatments.
• Biocompatible adhesive materials that can be designed to match tissue type, to reduce leakage and their complications after surgeries.
• A software platform that automatically captures best IT practices and solutions, which are then generalized to different machine configurations, and automatically implemented on computers needing maintenance.
• A quick, easy, and low cost tool to measure uncorrected refractive errors and provide data for corrective eyeglasses prescription.
• A robotically steered electrode for image-guided thermal ablation of tumors to extend thermal ablation as a minimally invasive technique for treating cancer.
• A carbon-nanotube based, minimally invasive, tissue implantable, glucose sensor to allow continuous glucose monitoring for diabetes patients.
• A system that quickly dissipates large amounts of accumulated heat to prevent failure in high power electronics or semiconductors.

The Deshpande Center helps move technologies from MIT’s labs to the marketplace with grants that enables recipients to assess and reduce the technical and market risks associated with their innovations. The center’s network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and academic and legal experts also helps recipients assess the commercial potential of their work, and develop business plans and licensing strategies.

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