TECH OFFERS

Melioidosis, caused by the environmental gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a tropical disease often manifesting as severe sepsis. In tropical regions where melioidosis is prevalent, the mortality rate for sepsis and melioidosis is alarmingly high with 40-80% of patients exhibiting bacteremia and pneumonia, underlining the urgent need for effective diagnostic solutions. Currently, available methods for identifying melioidosis patients are limited, contributing to under recognition and misdiagnosis of this fatal pathogen. In addressing this critical healthcare challenge, the ready-to-use real-time PCR kit for B. pseudomallei detection is a significant breakthrough. Its purpose is to enhance the diagnosis process for melioidosis suspected patients. The kit provides high sensitivity and quick diagnosis capabilities which are essential for timely patient management and clinical decision-making, enabling prompt administration of appropriate antimicrobial agents for melioidosis. This not only reduces disease severity but also impacts the mortality rate and the overall cost of hospital care. The gold standard for diagnosis is bacterial culture but has a low sensitivity of 60% and a low throughput rate, which does not meet the demands for quick and accurate detection in melioidosis cases. This technology addresses this gap by offering a rapid, highly sensitive diagnostic tool that is crucial to reduce severe infections that lead to high mortality rate. The technology owner is seeking collaborations with medical institutions (particularly those specializing in infectious disease diagnosis and treatment), device manufacturers capable of producing and distributing the kit at scale, research institutions and academic organizations.

Professional football clubs have a strong economic motivation to invest in injury prevention and rehabilitation programs. Among sports-related injuries, ankle sprains stand out as one of the most common injuries, accounting for 10-30% of such injuries. Even more concerning is the recorded data indicating that a substantial 80% of ankle sprains result in injury recurrence and enduring instability. This underscores the critical need for innovative solutions to address and prevent such joint injuries, ultimately enhancing players’ performance, prolonging their careers, and safeguarding the financial interests of professional football clubs. Through interdisciplinary research, the technology owner has developed a second skin designed to provide optimal support and protection for ankle joints, emerging as a promising avenue in the pursuit of minimizing these pervasive and recurrent injuries. This innovative second skin is made of a non-woven fabric that incorporates graphene fibers using a spraying technique. The application of this second skin should be prior to each practice session, as the level of support it provides decreases during physical activity. The second skin has remarkable performance and high impact resistance, ensuring a user-friendly experience. The technology owner is seeking collaboration with relevant partners, such as football clubs and sports medical centers in Asia and Europe.

Nitrofurans are synthetic antibiotics that have been widely used in veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections in animals. However, due to concerns about their potential harmful effects on human health, many countries have banned their use. As a result, it is important to detect nitrofurans residues in food products to ensure food safety and prevent potential health risks. The aptasensor colorimetric detection kit for nitrofurans (NFs) residues provides high specificity and sensitivity of NFs contaminants in fisheries products and honey. This kit enables the rapid extraction of NFs within 5 hours, without requiring sophisticated equipment. The kit also allows for rapid detection within 5 minutes, with the assistance of a mobile phone image analyzer application, making it ideal for on-site detection. The sensitivity of detection reaches 0.3 ppb, which is in line with the Minimum Required Performance Level (MRPL), allowing this kit to be used as a screening kit for NFs. Compared to the standard method, LC-MS/MS, this kit reduces the cost of operation by 10 times (from 100 USD to 10 USD) and reduces the time of operation (from 18 hours to 6 hours). Additionally, this kit does not require sophisticated scientific equipment. The technology provider is seeking R&D collaboration partners with the farming and feed production industry to self-determine NFs contaminants prior to harvesting or selling their products.  

Piglets are vital to the pork industry, but they are often born weak and with insufficient milk, resulting in high mortality rates and the need for antibiotics. To address this issue, a technology provider has developed a formulation containing medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), which can help piglets recover quickly, disinfect bacteria, inhibit viruses, balance gut microorganisms, and improve immunity levels. The formulation contains a high concentration of lauric acid and monolaurin, which account for more than 40% of the total fatty acid content. It also contains natural extracts and curcuminoids from palm kernel oil with techniques decarboxylated that help reduce oxidative stress, stimulate the immune system, and reduce inflammation in the digestive tract of piglets. The technology provider is seeking collaboration partners to reduce antibiotic use in the pig industry, which will result in fewer chemical residues in meat and lower production costs.

This technology aims to tackle the food waste problem in the Thai agricultural sector. Shrimp shell was selected since it constituted a large portion of all crustacean shell waste. Many tons of shrimp shells are discarded daily. However, they contain high amounts of protein, calcium, and umami compounds. Thus, they can be used to fortify food products.  Currently, the instant noodle market still has a limited number of healthy options. Therefore, there is a significant market opportunity to develop a low sodium and high protein instant noodle product.

The Reconfigurable Workspace Soft Gripper (RWSG) is a bio-inspired, pneumatically actuated, shape morphing soft robotic gripper that is capable of rapid reconfigurability. It features passive retractable nails, bi-directional foldable petals, and a flexible palm to adapt to various grasping and manipulation tasks and requirements. The ability to rapidly reconfigure allows the RWSG to grasp a wide range of large, thin, hard, delicate, and deformable objects. These capabilities make the RWSG a uniquely advantageous tool for high mix low volume manipulation and packing scenarios such as food assembly, packaging of groceries, and packing of consumer electronics. 

The analysis of patient’s blood, known as a Complete Blood Count (CBC), involves measuring the quantity and quality of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets consists of two main steps – (i) an automated machine-based examination to assess various blood cell values and (ii) a microscopic examination of blood cell morphology using stained blood smears and microscopy. The current manual method is highly dependent on laboratory personnel to manually prepare blood smears and process the samples, introducing human error and subjectivity over the over the quantity of staining reagent used for each patient. In addition, continuous exporsure to chemical compound of staining reagents can affect the health of laboratory staff. Conversely, the use of fully-automated machines available in the market, use larger quantities of stains and reagents and this may not be effective for the daily sample volume that is typically processed in smaller hospitals or diagnostic laboratories leading to increased laboratory expenses. This technology is of an automated blood smear staining machine which offers precision control over every step of the sample process. Employing a closed system, with multiple independent channels, this devices offers a solution suitable to smaller hospitals and laboratories which see lower patient test volumes.

Disinfectants are chemicals that kill or inactivate harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Commonly used to disinfect surfaces and objects that are frequently touched, disinfectants are an important tool for preventing the spread of infectious diseases and reducing the risk of transmission. The technology on offer is a long-lasting active compound that serves as a disinfectant. Comprising of nanocomposites and polycondensates, the disinfecting active compound exhibits high efficacy against a broad spectrum of microorganisms including bacteria and viruses. Due to the controlled release effect of active species, the disinfectant’s efficacy can last at least 3 months by accumulation of the active species on the surface of microorganisms and denaturing of the microorganisms’ proteins. This technology is safe and non-toxic to humans and pets, making it applicable for a wide variety of products. The technology owner is interested in joint R&D/co-development projects with partners keen to integrate this technology for new products/applications.

Malaria continues to be a significant challenge for public health, causing more than 200 million cases and approximately 500,000 deaths annually. In Southeast Asia and Oceania, the primary cause of malaria is the Plasmodium vivax parasite, which  is transmitted through mosquitoes and infects red blood cells. Malaria arising from P.vivax transmission is responsible for 42% of all cases of outside Africa. To reduce the burden of this disease, it is crucial to have new tools that can effectively suppress its transmission.  This technology is of a novel vaccine candidate that demonstrates a higher level of efficacy in halting the transmission of P. vivax which unlike its previous counterparts, exhibits enhanced durability making it well-suited for eliciting community protection.