Innovation Showcase
Wichayut Suttabongoch, Thayathorn Sathansaowaporn, Nattaphol Thangchiang
Over 130 million individuals around the globe are suffering from due to disorder of cartilage that happen from tears and injuries from daily activities and generic factors. The typical treatment today is knee replacement which is invasive (with Titanium implant) and slow in recovery. The existing stem cell therapy involves implanting cartilage which is cultured with chemical stimuli. We develop an innovative (Simple and low cost) device that can regenerate and boost the performance of cartilage from patient's chondrocytes (cartilage cell) through applying Hydrostatic pressure. Mechanical stimulation applied by hydrostatic pressure helps increaseing protiens content in cells, boosting their performance to resisist more load and improving flexibility compared with chemical stimulation that is used in regenerative medicine nowadays. Chondocyte cultured with this device could recreate patient's cartilage which can be attached or injected back to their knees. Our research partner is Siriraj Hospital (JCI accredited hospital) which provides pre-clinical resources and collaborates with us on further research on more degenerative joint diseases. Also our device has a potential to be a great plug-in into cell culturing process of cell therapy company to enhance their product quality
Natthanicha Jamroonpan, Ratchatida Phummapooti, Supassara Bowman
Hundreds of tons of fruit are waste during harvesting. Today fruit are either manually picked (slow and costly) or harvested by automation with a rigid gripper. To make automation more efficient and effective we have designed Aroribot. Agroribot is a soft gripper made by strong waterproof paper for robots inspired by the Japanese Origami art. Unlike current robotic gripper which has only three fingers, Agroribot has twelve fingers which increase the contact points allowing more efficient gripping. It can pick up objects of various sizes and shapes without requiring any additional sensory which other current robots are dependent on. It can grasp difference type of fruits or items with the minimally sufficient grasping force that does not cause any fruits damage thanks to the origami design. Reducing and elimination waste during harvesting creates significant environmetal and economic benefits. With Agroribot, farmers have a higher quality of life by improving efficiency, saving time and decreasing risk during harvesting. We currently further develop then gripper with industrial partners to create the full automation harvesting system.
Pemika Suksongkarm, Sirintra Jitchoom, Kunthara Poonjaruwan
Lead in drinking water is usually reached from plumbing such as pipes, fixture, faucets and fitting. Most water lines in the world are made of brass, which is an alloy of copper and zinc. Lead is added in the range of 1.5%-2.5% wt., into brass for easy maching. However, it is poisonous to human health and the environment. In recent years, NSF 16 have placed more restrictions on using lead inwater-handling applications, especially portable water. We have developed a nontoxic alternative brass, created using Bismuth and Tin alloysrecycled from eletronic waste. Electronic waste is the serious environmental issue in the world which often processed through infoemal practices and unrefined process, causing serious environmental damage and health risks. Also the cost of electronic waste refining process is high. Our innovative technology solves two significant environmental issues at once. The manufacturing process is comparable to the conventional brass. The difference is we replace lead by Bi-Sn alloy, reused from eletronic waste. Also, it has the properties that improve the machinability and the durability of the cutting tool which provide the higher productivity of mechanical production. Moreover, the lead-free brass costs much less than all the existing lead-free brass in the market due to the reusable element that being alloyed in brass. Our innovation enables user-friendly production process and reduce contamination in the environment and damage of human health. Our technology has been validated by the Thai industrial Standard (TIS) for significantly reducing the quantity of toxic elements (Pd,Cd,Zn) in water than the required standard.
Pacharavajee Duangkaew, Neeranuch Rukying, Warunyou Niminram
According to the world health organization, by 2050 more than ten million people will die from antibiotic resistant. Extensive use of antibiotics and preservatives are causing several problematic issues, including customer rejection, trade barriers and antibiotic resisitant pathogens in public health system. The peptide is produced by bacterial methods that minimizes the production costs and human health and environmental concerns. Nowadays peptidesare expected to diminish the use of antibiotics and chemical preservatives and control the growth of microorganisms. The existing peptide production process is long, expensive and inefficient, involving high cost reactivation process. We have carefully redesigned and engineering a new gene to change the production process to produce active human peptides without reactivation process. Our innovation is protected by Thai patent application and we are told it will issue soon. When licensed to industry it will give a sustainable alternative to many antibiotic and preservatives that helps us walk through the dark era of the drug resistant microorganisms. We continue our research and development with industrial partner into applications in antibiotic-free cosmetics and animal feeds.