TECH OFFERS

Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) have been the primary growth driver of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and has seen widespread adoption in areas such as Computer Vision, Speech Processing, Natural Language Processing, and Graph Search, among many others. It is also well-known that AI both needs and produces large amounts of data. However, traditional data repositories have not scaled effectively to handle the large amounts of vector representations that are common in AI applications - in such cases, searching for similarities across high-dimensional vectors is inefficient. To address such limitations, vector databases have been developed to address the limitations of traditional hash-based searches and search scalability, enabling similarity searches across large datasets. This technology offer is a unified Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) data platform that supports approximate vector search, enabling efficient searching over billion-scale structured data and vector data. The data engine simplifies the process of building enterprise-level AI applications such as search and recommendation systems, video analytics, text-based searches, and chatbots while accelerating the development of production-ready systems. Developers no longer need to deal with complicated scripts to query vector data as low latency, high-performance structured data, and vector data searches are made possible via vector data indexing methods and the use of extended Structured Query Language (SQL) syntax.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable malignancy of neoplastic antibody-secreting plasma cells and is the world’s second most common haematological cancer. The costs to the healthcare system and economy for each patient suffering from MM is significant. Complex cytogenetic testing currently places patients into either high or low risk potential of succumbing to the disease. Despite the increase in different treatment regimes, the overall survival post-diagnosis is low and the disease remains incurable. Thus, the identification of new biomarkers for MM to expedite the prognosis for a patient, to assist in the selection of appropriate treatment regimes, to assist with selecting patients for treatment, and/or to assess their response to treatment are desperately needed. The technology provider is seeking partners for licensing and co-development opportunities.

Chilli crab, pepper crab, butter crab are popular and iconic Southeast Asian crab dishes made from mud crabs. The lack of consistent supply of good meaty mud crabs is affecting seafood wholesalers and seafood restaurants. Some restaurants unintentionally use lean crabs and this eventually leads to negative feedback from the customers. The problem is more prominent in mud crabs compared to other crustacean species such as shrimps and lobsters. Current methods adopted by the industry to grade mud crabs (meaty versus lean) are empirical and based on tacit knowledge with subjective judgement. The technology owner has developed a novel “first-of-its-kind” spectroscopy approach to determine the meatiness of mud crabs. This platform technology is non-invasive, simple, accurate, and portable for grading of mud crabs. The technology owner is interested in seeking technology licensing collaborators.

With the increasing number of at-risk pregnancies and the limitation of the care delivery system, it becomes urgent to find a reliable solution that addresses technology, cost and care delivery challenges. Forging new frontiers in pregnancy care, the technology provider has developed a solution comprising a comprehensive remote monitoring suite for obstetrics care. The technology is a turnkey and modular virtual maternity care solution that enables the digitalization of existing antenatal and postnatal protocols. The technology allows the care team to deliver risk-specific care to pregnant mothers in the comfort of their homes through a patient mobile app and an array of connected monitoring devices, including a proprietary home use fetal and maternal monitor. The technology provider is looking to engage relevant stakeholders for collaboration to support their research projects and their global commercialization journey.

Different plant species have different nutrient requirements. The current practice of urban farming uses a generic hydroponic nutrient solution that is suitable to most plant types, and a crude sensing system that only measures total ion content in the solution. This approach often results in nutrients deficiency and/or overloading and hence requires consistently monitoring. Overloading of nutrients not only increases the input costs, it also results in greater quantities of contamination in effluent to be disposed after harvest.  A targeted hydroponic nutrient solution reduces the need to periodically adjust the nutrient. The technology provider has studied and formulated different nutrient recipes that had shown improved yield compared to commercial products. This ensures the best growth for each crop type. It also reduces common problem stemming from imbalanced nutrient, e.g. leaf chlorosis due to nutrient deficiency. All these translate to a better yield and a more marketable produce for the farmers. Formulations developed include Mizuna, Kale, Lettuce, Mustard, Kalian, and Caixin. The technology provider is seeking for licensing partners from the agriculture industry.

Micronutrients are critically important for plant growth in agriculture as micronutrient deficiency leads to a great loss of crop yield. This largely depends on the ability of plants to respond to and retain micronutrients but the delivery of micronutrient to plants has always been very limited due to low plant uptake efficiency. This technology aims to substantially increase plant uptake efficiency by encapsulating micronutrients in nanomaterials that serve as an enhanced delivery platform. A nanofertilizer is generated by utilising encapsulated nutrients with materials derived from biomass such as food waste, agriculture waste and aquaculture waste. The technology has been validated by research studies that uptake efficiency of micronutrients increased up to 3 to 4 times in comparison to conventional micronutrient fertilizers. At their corresponding optimal dosages, the supplemented amount of nanofertilizer (in terms of micronutrient ingredient) is as low as a quarter of that of conventional fertilizers, while the yield of biomass/plants supplemented with nano fertilizer is also higher. This nano-carrier platform technology is environmentally friendly, sustainable, non-toxic, and cost-effective. Production of such nanofertilizer is scalable and high yield, which makes its widespread application highly promising for efficient delivery of various plant required nutrients. The technology owner is seeking potential partners to license and commercialise this technology.   

Algae are very diverse organisms that possess many functional ingredients. With the suitable cultivation know-how and state-of-the-art technology, the applications for algae are limitless. A cleantech start-up focuses on algae as means to provide sustainable solutions to global issues. Most algae companies use a single alga for specific applications. However, the start-up uses its intensive library, breeding and cultivation expertise, and its mass production technology to provide targeted products and solutions for different industries. The start-up is seeking for partners that are interested in exploring algae for their industrial applications, which can include food, medical, or environmental purposes. Possible modes of collaboration include technical consultancy, R&D, process and/or product development. 

COVID-19 vaccination programs have been implemented worldwide to battle the pandemic and allow resuming social interactions as much as possible to the ‘normal operation’ without having to close all activities. However, recent reports reveal that vaccine effectiveness is reduced overtime. In addition, the current vaccines offer less protection against the new emerging viral variants. Monitoring of the neutralizing antibodies (nAb) can be used to gain information about the individual protective immune status and vaccine efficacy. Monitoring of nAb in a population could help determine persons requiring booster shots, and persons who are safe to cross borders without being quarantined. However, most tests available are not specific to nAb. Tests that are specific to nAb are lab-based tests that require collection of venous blood, laboratory facilities, skilled operators, and long (one to four hours) sample-to-result time. As such, these tests are not suitable for a large-scale monitoring. The technology provider offers a rapid 10 minute test that monitors nAb from a drop of fingertip blood. The test can be operated independently from laboratory facilities and can be used to monitor the vaccine efficacy against different viral variants. The test offers a simple solution that can be used to rapidly monitor individual nAb status at a large-scale without the need for laboratory space, highly skilled operators, or specialist to collect blood samples. The technology provider is seeking collaborations with partners having expertise in reagent manufacturing, clinical research, and clinical testing for the deployment of this test.

Ore-lax, a novel microemulsion-based gel containing oregano essential oil, is a promising topical formulation for muscle pain relief. Oregano essential oil is rich in carvacrol, a natural compound that exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anesthetic activities. Microemulsion technology is used to enhance both the physical and chemical stability of Ore-lax formulations. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable systems which require no specific or sophisticated technology to be formulated. Therefore, low cost of production is one of the economic benefits of microemulsion at the industry level. In addition, large scale production is easily achievable. Ore-lax microemulsion with the small internal droplet size of around 180 nm can result in enhanced carvacrol efficacy, prolonged muscle pain relief, and non-irritation. Ore-lax is suggested as a mild formulation for topical application since it exhibits no cytotoxic effect on the HaCaT keratinocyte cell line and possesses the ability to reduce the irritation effect of oregano essential oil. Ore-lax has undergone testing in 40 human volunteers for efficacy and satisfaction. Therefore, Ore-lax is suitable for people of almost all ages who encounter muscle pain from either office syndrome or excessive exercise. The technology provider is seeking collaboration opportunities with partners who are interested to further develop Ore-lax and/or incorporate Ore-lax actives into enhanced product offerings for muscle pain relief.