A team of two biomedical engineering students took first place in The University of Texas at Austin’s Idea to Product (I2P®) Competition for their research and design of a smart catheter with a thin, flexible pressure sensor that can measure blood pressure and blood flow in real-time.
Ph.D. candidate Tushar Sharma, who will graduate this May, and undergraduate student Sahil Naik, both working in John X.J. Zhang’s lab, participated among a total of 11 semi-finalists in the 2013 I2P® Competition. Their catheter is significant because it provides more accurate pressure measurements than those currently in use, which is especially important for applications in cardiovascular disease-related surgeries and procedures. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the U.S. and worldwide.
The The I2P® Competition is an early-stage technology commercialization plan event open to UT Austin students of all disciplines who are interested in technology-focused entrepreneurship. The I2P® Competition gives competitors hands-on commercialization experience, mentoring and feedback from experienced entrepreneurs on the UT-Austin faculty and from industry.
