College of Health and Behavioral Sciences

Vibratory Cough Suppression
[Patent: US20170007497]

Dr. Christy Ludlow, Communications Sciences and Disorders, has patented a device that treats chronic cough. A chronic cough is a cough that persists for more than 8 weeks with no underlying cause and is considered to be a hyper sensitivity of the central nervous system. Her invention is a noninvasive device that a patient can use in everyday life to suppress their chronic cough. The device directly suppresses coughing by reducing the hyper sensitivity in the neck and throat region.

College of Science and Mathematics

Novel Triscationic Amphiphile compounds with alcohol groups and methods of making  
[Patents: 8,980,925, 9,556,109, US20170135342]

Dr. Kevin Caran, Chemistry, and Dr. Kyle Seifert, Biology, have developed a new series of nanoparticles with amphiphilic properties. The new amphiphiles have a unique structure that allow the organic compounds to work in unusual ways. Initial tests indicate that the amphiphiles could be a more effective, but less caustic, antimicrobial than many chemical products on the market today.

Animal Monitoring Data Station
[Patent: US20170135342]

College of Integrated Science and Engineering

Sjögren’s diagnostic
[Patent: US20180214545]

Dr. McKown and Dr. Raab, both from the ISAT department, along with Dr.Seifert from biology have developed a noninvasive, quick, and effective method for the diagnosing Sjögren’s syndrome or Dry Eye. As envisioned, three clinical assays can be realized for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of lacritin, a protein biomarker, in human tear samples collected on Schirmer strips during routine clinical eye examinations. Reduced levels of lacritin are a better clinical standard for the diagnosis of Sjogren’s dry eye syndrome based on previously conducted clinical studies. A provisional patent has been filed.