Houston team develops low-cost device to treat infants with life-threatening birth defect

infant innovation

SimpleSilo, created at Rice360, offers a low-cost, easy-to-source solution for infants born with gastroschisis. Photo courtesy Rice University

A team of engineers and pediatric surgeons led by Rice University’s Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies has developed a cost-effective treatment for infants born with gastroschisis, a congenital condition in which intestines and other organs are developed outside of the body.

The condition can be life-threatening in economically disadvantaged regions without access to equipment.

The Rice-developed device, known as SimpleSilo, is “simple, low-cost and locally manufacturable,” according to the university. It consists of a saline bag, oxygen tubing and a commercially available heat sealer, while mimicking the function of commercial silo bags, which are used in high-income countries to protect exposed organs and gently return them into the abdominal cavity gradually.

Generally, a single-use bag can cost between $200 and $300. The alternatives that exist lack structure and require surgical sewing. This is where the SimpleSilo comes in.

“We focused on keeping the design as simple and functional as possible, while still being affordable,” Vanshika Jhonsa said in a news release. “Our hope is that health care providers around the world can adapt the SimpleSilo to their local supplies and specific needs.”

The study was published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, and Jhonsa, its first author, also won the 2023 American Pediatric Surgical Association Innovation Award for the project. She is a recent Rice alumna and is currently a medical student at UTHealth Houston.

Bindi Naik-Mathuria, a pediatric surgeon at UTMB Health, served as the corresponding author of the study. Rice undergraduates Shreya Jindal and Shriya Shah, along with Mary Seifu Tirfie, a current Rice360 Global Health Fellow, also worked on the project.

In laboratory tests, the device demonstrated a fluid leakage rate of just 0.02 milliliters per hour, which is comparable to commercial silo bags, and it withstood repeated disinfection while maintaining its structure. In a simulated in vitro test using cow intestines and a mock abdominal wall, SimpleSilo achieved a 50 percent reduction of the intestines into the simulated cavity over three days, also matching the performance of commercial silo bags. The team plans to conduct a formal clinical trial in East Africa.

“Gastroschisis has one of the biggest survival gaps from high-resource settings to low-resource settings, but it doesn’t have to be this way,” Meaghan Bond, lecturer and senior design engineer at Rice360, added in the news release. “We believe the SimpleSilo can help close the survival gap by making treatment accessible and affordable, even in resource-limited settings.”
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AccessPath is a novel, affordable, slide-free pathology system that helps surgeons determine if they have completely removed tumors during surgery. Photo via Getty Images

Promising Houston cancer research project wins $18M grant

fresh funding

The Biden-Harris administration is deploying $150 million as a part of its Cancer Moonshot initiative, and a research team led by Rice University is getting a slice of that pie.

AccessPath is a novel, affordable, slide-free pathology system that helps surgeons determine if they have completely removed tumors during surgery. Rebecca Richards-Kortum, a Rice bioengineering professor and director of the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, is the lead PI on the project that is receiving up to $18 million over five years from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

“Because of its low cost, high speed, and automated analysis, we believe AccessPath can revolutionize real-time surgical guidance, greatly expanding the range of hospitals able to provide accurate intraoperative tumor margin assessment and improving outcomes for all cancer surgery patients,” Richards-Kortum says in a news release.

The project is focused on two types of cancer, breast and head and neck cancer, and Ashok Veeraraghavan, chair of Rice’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science, is a co-PI and Tomasz Tkaczyk, a professor of bioengineering and electrical and computer engineering at Rice, is also a collaborator on the project.

AccessPath is addressing the challenge surgeons face of identifying the margin where tumor tissue ends and health tissue begins when removing tumors. The project not only hopes to provide a more exact solution but do so in an affordable way.

“Precise margin assessment is key to the oncologic success of any cancer operation,” adds Dr. Ana Paula Refinetti, an associate professor in the Department of Breast Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and one of the lead surgeons PIs on the project. “The development of a new low-cost technology that enables immediate margin assessment could transform the landscape of surgical oncology — particularly in low-resource settings, reducing the number of repeat interventions, lowering cancer care costs and improving patient outcomes.”

The project optimizing margin identification with a fast-acting, high-resolution microscope, effective fluorescent stains for dying tumor margins, and artificial intelligence algorithms.

AccessPath is a collaboration between Rice and MD Anderson Cancer Center, other awardees in the grant include the University of Texas Health School of Dentistry, Duke University, Carnegie Mellon University and 3rd Stone Design.

“AccessPath is exactly the kind of life-changing research and health care innovation we are proud to produce at Rice, where we’re committed to addressing and solving the world’s most pressing medical issues,” Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Rice’s executive vice president for research, says in the release. “Partnering with MD Anderson on this vital work underscores the importance of such ongoing collaborations with our neighbors in the world’s largest medical center. I am thrilled for Rebecca and her team; it’s teamwork that makes discoveries like these possible.”

Rebecca Richards-Kortum, a Rice bioengineering professor and director of the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, is the lead PI on the project. Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University

The Center for Innovation and Translation of POC Technologies for Equitable Cancer Care, or CITEC, will be managed through Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies. Photo via Getty Images

Rice-led initiative looks to make cancer detection affordable, equitable

future of health care

A new initiative from two Houston organizations is hoping to develop affordable health care innovation for early cancer detection.

The Center for Innovation and Translation of POC Technologies for Equitable Cancer Care, or CITEC, will be managed through Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, which is part of an ongoing international effort to prepare the future global health workforce.

Rice will be joined by Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Sao Paulo, Barretos Cancer Hospital in Brazil, Mozambique Ministry of Health, and Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique.

“While early detection and treatment of cancer can improve survival, available tests for early cancer detection are too complex or too expensive for hospitals and clinics in medically underserved areas,” CITEC co-principal investigator Rebecca Richards-Kortum, a Rice bioengineering professor and director of Rice360, says in a news release.

The project is part of a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to launch a top-tier research center in the Texas Medical Center to develop point-of-care technologies that improve early cancer detection in low-resource in America and internationally that are effective and affordable. Rice’s leading collaboration group to help secure the grant includes engineers, oncologists and international global health partners from three continents. in low-resource settings in the United States and other countries.

CITEC will aim to target development of POC tests for oral, cervical and gastrointestinal cancers through the first-year grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) of $1.3 million—up to $6.5 million over five years. CITEC is funded by a NIBIB grant.

Last month, NIBIB announced that CITEC will be one of six research centers that it will support, along with an additional center, through its Point of Care Technology Research Network (POCTRN).

Dr. Sharmila Anandasabapathy, vice president of global health at Baylor College of Medicine, and Tomasz Tkaczyk, bioengineering professor at Rice, are the other two cco-principals on the initiative.

“CITEC will identify needed technologies, accelerate their development, evaluate their performance and impact in diverse settings and train local users and technology developers to create and disseminate more equitable POC technologies,” Anandasabapathy says in the release.

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Houston robotics co. unveils new robot that can handle extreme temperatures

Hot New Robot

Houston- and Boston-based Square Robot Inc.'s newest tank inspection robot is commercially available and certified to operate at extreme temperatures.

The new robot, known as the SR-3HT, can operate from 14°F to 131°F, representing a broader temperature range than previous models in the company's portfolio. According to the company, its previous temperature range reached 32°F to 104°F.

The new robot has received the NEC/CEC Class I Division 2 (C1D2) certification from FM Approvals, allowing it to operate safely in hazardous locations and to perform on-stream inspections of aboveground storage tanks containing products stored at elevated temperatures.

“Our engineering team developed the SR-3HT in response to significant client demand in both the U.S. and international markets. We frequently encounter higher temperatures due to both elevated process temperatures and high ambient temperatures, especially in the hotter regions of the world, such as the Middle East," David Lamont, CEO of Square Robot, said in a news release. "The SR-3HT employs both active and passive cooling technology, greatly expanding our operating envelope. A great job done (again) by our engineers delivering world-leading technology in record time.”

The company's SR-3 submersible robot and Side Launcher received certifications earlier this year. They became commercially available in 2023, after completing initial milestone testing in partnership with ExxonMobil, according to Square Robot.

The company closed a $13 million series B round in December, which it said it would put toward international expansion in Europe and the Middle East.

Square Robot launched its Houston office in 2019. Its autonomous, submersible robots are used for storage tank inspections and eliminate the need for humans to enter dangerous and toxic environments.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston's Ion District to expand with new research and tech space, The Arc

coming soon

Houston's Ion District is set to expand with the addition of a nearly 200,000-square-foot research and technology facility, The Arc at the Ion District.

Rice Real Estate Company and Lincoln Property Company are expected to break ground on the state-of-the-art facility in Q2 2026 with a completion target set for Q1 2028, according to a news release.

Rice University, the new facility's lead tenant, will occupy almost 30,000 square feet of office and lab space in The Arc, which will share a plaza with the Ion and is intended to "extend the district’s success as a hub for innovative ideas and collaboration." Rice research at The Arc will focus on energy, artificial intelligence, data science, robotics and computational engineering, according to the release.

“The Arc will offer Rice the opportunity to deepen its commitment to fostering world-changing innovation by bringing our leading minds and breakthrough discoveries into direct engagement with Houston’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said in the release. “Working side by side with industry experts and actual end users at the Ion District uniquely positions our faculty and students to form partnerships and collaborations that might not be possible elsewhere.”

Developers of the project are targeting LEED Gold certification by incorporating smart building automation and energy-saving features into The Arc's design. Tenants will have the opportunity to lease flexible floor plans ranging from 28,000 to 31,000 square feet with 15-foot-high ceilings. The property will also feature a gym, an amenity lounge, conference and meeting spaces, outdoor plazas, underground parking and on-site retail and dining.

Preleasing has begun for organizations interested in joining Rice in the building.

“The Arc at the Ion District will be more than a building—it will be a catalyst for the partnerships, innovations and discoveries that will define Houston’s future in science and technology,” Ken Jett, president of Rice Real Estate Company, added in the release. “By expanding our urban innovation ecosystem, The Arc will attract leading organizations and talent to Houston, further strengthening our city’s position as a hub for scientific and entrepreneurial progress.”

Intel Corp. and Rice University sign research access agreement

innovation access

Rice University’s Office of Technology Transfer has signed a subscription agreement with California-based Intel Corp., giving the global company access to Rice’s research portfolio and the opportunity to license select patented innovations.

“By partnering with Intel, we are creating opportunities for our research to make a tangible impact in the technology sector,” Patricia Stepp, assistant vice president for technology transfer, said in a news release.

Intel will pay Rice an annual subscription fee to secure the option to evaluate specified Rice-patented technologies, according to the agreement. If Intel chooses to exercise its option rights, it can obtain a license for each selected technology at a fee.

Rice has been a hub for innovation and technology with initiatives like the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, an accelerator focused on expediting the translation of the university’s health and medical technology; RBL LLC, a biotech venture studio in the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park dedicated to commercializing lifesaving medical technologies from the Launch Pad; and Rice Nexus, an AI-focused "innovation factory" at the Ion.

The university has also inked partnerships with other tech giants in recent months. Rice's OpenStax, a provider of affordable instructional technologies and one of the world’s largest publishers of open educational resources, partnered with Microsoft this summer. Google Public Sector has also teamed up with Rice to launch the Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.

“This agreement exemplifies Rice University’s dedication to fostering innovation and accelerating the commercialization of groundbreaking research,” Stepp added in the news release.

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