TECH OFFERS

The impact of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) on society is one of our biggest global challenges as it adversely affects the quality of life of patients. This irreversible disease also poses tremendous physical, emotional, and financial burdens to their family, the community medical system, and the entire social economy.  The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a few prescription drugs (i.e. Aricept® (donepezil), Exelon® (rivastigmine), Razadyne® (galantamine) and Namenda® (memantine)) for the treatment of AD. These prescription drugs can help reduce or delay some symptoms, but not cure AD.  The possible side effects of these drugs range from mild symptoms that include nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, to severe symptoms that include slow heartbeat, heart block, gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers. As stated in the 2012 Consumer Reports, the monthly medication cost of these prescription drugs is around US$200 to US$400 per AD patient.  In light of this, we have invented a patented formulation by modifying the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulation, Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Tang (HLJDT, 黃連解毒湯).  Our research findings prove that the modified HLJDT (HLJDT-M) can reduce the accumulation of protein plaques and fibrous nodules (i.e. amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) and tau aggregates) in the brain that leads to rapid death of neurons and deterioration of brain function. HLJDT-M has given more significant therapeutic and pharmacological effects in treating AD with low cost and extremely low side effects.

Many of us love the warmth and brightness of the sun; however, sun exposure often causes damage to our skin. When our skin is exposed to sunlight, which is the primary source of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, our skin gets darkened, damaged or causes various aesthetic problems, such as wrinkles, blemishes, scarring, freckles and chloasmata. These are due to the oxidative stress (i.e. generation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS)) in the epidermal and dermal layers. Occasionally, the UV-induced damages may even lead to the development of melanoma (i.e. a type of skin cancer). The invention is a specific class of natural compounds in a well-known Chinese medicine. The product gives skin whitening effect and improves skin condition. It is safe to use and is now available on the market.

The majority of the local indoor farmers grow crops that are harvested for their leaves. One way to increase the growth rate of such leafy greens is to provide a longer period of light. However, some of the crops grown, e.g., spinach, are long-day plants that flower when the light periods are longer than their critical day-length. While important to a plant’s life cycle, this vegetative to reproductive phase change is undesirable for farmers, not only because it shortens the harvest period hence reducing the yield, but also because it changes the taste profile. To tackle this problem, a light recipe that was able to suppress flowering was formulated. Plants grown under this light recipe showed a faster growth rate than those grown under flowering-suppressing short-day photoperiod. Moreover, they do not flower even when the light period has surpassed the critical day-length. Positive results were obtained when this light recipe was tested on spinach and arugula. This technology would work for other long-day crops, and it will be beneficial to indoor farmers who are interested to try it.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, autoimmune disease that most commonly afflicts joints in the hands, wrists and knees. It arises when the immune system mistakenly targets the body’s own tissues, triggering inflammation that could lead to irreversible damage in the long run. Patients with RA often complain of swelling, pain and stiffness of the joints. In the most severe cases, RA can cause limb deformity and, ultimately, loss of function. There is no single test that can conclusively diagnose RA, and doctors typically have to run several to make sure. One such test is the X-ray, which helps visualise which joints are inflamed and to what degree. There are several methods for scoring X-ray radiographs, but most of them are manually graded, so physicians still need to attend to each image individually. As a result, interpretation of X-rays tends to be subjective and, depending on how well-staffed a hospital is, can take up to several days. RA is the most common type of autoimmune arthritis. In Singapore, around one percent of the population have RA, equivalent to tens of thousands of radiographs requiring interpretation. There is therefore a need for an automated approach of processing these X-ray images quickly without sacrificing diagnostic quality. The described invention is a deep learning algorithm that automatically scores X-ray radiographs and accurately assesses the severity of joint damage.

The most common cryopreservation media used in laboratories consist of 10% DMSO and 20% to 90% fetal bovine serum (FBS). DMSO was thought to reduce the size of ice-crystals during freezing, thus reducing mortality whereas FBS improves the viability of cells during recovery.  Although effective for cryopreservation of most cell types, FBS poised significant risks, including the possible risk of cross-species virus infections such as the “mad cow disease”, as well as the possibility of triggering an adverse immunogenic response from the recipient. Our serum-free cryopreservation formula allows the cryopreservation of mammalian cells without the need for serum.

Fall risk assessment is used to identify the risk level and risk factors, so as to prevent falls and reduce the chance of injury. Conventional assessments often involve questionnaires or functional assessment (e.g. Timed Up and Go, 4 Stage Balance) of posture, gait, cognition, and other fall risk factors. However, these clinical assessments are usually subjective and qualitative. Quantitative measurements of balance and those gait parameters could provide a more accurate and actionable insight for the elderly. However, a comprehensive analysis is usually conducted in a lab with lots of equipment such as high-speed cameras and force platforms. Also, the data collected has to be analysed by professionals. These time-consuming processes are difficult to practically integrate into typical clinic practice. A wearable, compact device was invented in order to simplify the gait analysis processes with easy access to those gait parameters. Its assessment test only takes 5 mins and can be conducted anywhere. The data collected will be associated to fall vulnerability with the help of cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). This technology enables a simple, efficient and affordable approach for elderly everywhere to benefit from early awareness and prevention of serious health risks.

The technology offers an effective and hygienic solution for capturing first void urine (typically defined as the first 20 mL of the urine flow) in a standardized volumetric way, thereby guaranteeing significantly increased analytic accuracy and patient comfort over classic urine sampling devices. The technology is highly user-friendly and allows for non-clinician dependent self-sampling in a home based setting.  Due to the non-invasive character of urine sampling, it offers an alternative to clinician-dependent sampling such as pap smear, cervico-vaginal brushes, etc.  The technology platform consists of multiple variants capturing a range of urine volumes for different application purposes. To allow for transportation and storage of the urine sample at room temperature, the technology is also available in combination with various urine stabilization chemistries that remove the need for cold-chain transportation and immediate cold storage of the collected samples.

By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the world earth’s estimate 9.8 billion population will reside in urban centers. In addition, factors such as climate change, limited arable land and pollution will make indoor farming an attractive option. Current technologies used in traditional farming will definitely be inadequate and for Singapore, it will be even more vital to achieve food security with limited resources.  The technology described herein consists of a horticultural LED system that can eventually help to address 2 main concerns of urban farming - operation cost and crop yield. The predictive algorithms can help to predict important lighting information necessary for indoor farming. This lighting information is crucial for end-user (e.g. farmers) to formulate their own “light” recipe for optimizing the growth rate of their crops. In addition, it has analytics features that can assist in analysing DLI, energy costs, etc. for improving crop yield. The technology owner is seeking partners to collaborate through various modes including technology licensing and test bedding.

This Technology Offer allows automation of the process of monitoring stock levels in the warehouse, and when they drop below a certain threshold, trigger a certain event.  This technology can be used to address the following challenges: What items are on the shelf? What is the current inventory level? What items need to be restocked? How many items need to be restocked?