After six months of research and development, five Innovation Grant recipients presented the details of their work Thursday at the FedEx Institute of Technology.
Researchers, with the help of the grants, have developed several ideas that will improve health care, saving dollars and lives, according to Craig Grossman, executive director of the Institute.
In the area of supply chain management, patient tracking has been simplified with the development of RFID (radio frequency identification) tags. These tags will replace barcodes that are currently used in hospitals.
"We can use this to track patients moving through the hospital, or even toothpaste moving through Wal-Mart," Grossman said.
Also developed in the area of biotechnology is a new Nano-porous thin film sensor capable of detecting a single molecule. It is a development Grossman also sees as saving millions of dollars in health care costs.
"(The sensor) can be used in areas like orthopedic surgeries, which could result in efficiencies approaching $500 million in medical costs, and could save lives," Grossman said. "We can take these (developments) into other areas as well, including homeland security and defense."
Other scientific developments granted by the Institute include a composite therapeutic delivery system for bones and an acoustic analysis of muscle fiber properties.
University of Memphis students and faculty will soon be able to access some of the new scientific developments with the introduction of a new interactive kiosk, available at the Institute.
The kiosk, equipped with a computerized "agent," or person, will be able to recognize voice and respond vocally, working as a faux directory, guiding students through the Institute and the Institute's employees.
The grant was a result of "gift money" offered by the Institute's sponsors, including FedEx Corporation, Steelcase, Methodist Health Systems, Autozone, Bellsouth and Time Warner Cable, said Eric Mathews, associate director of business development.
The top five proposals were awarded the money.
"I think it's great," said Katie Bell, a sophomore biology major. "Especially in my future field, these breakthroughs are always exciting."
These developments have already been granted follow-up dollars up to $100,000, he said.
"We're (the Institute) going to partner to help put (these proposals) into commercial use," Mathews said.
The grant is only the beginning to the new frontier of technology, Grossman said.
"The possibilities of the future are all unbounded," he said.
