Snoring is a symptom of Sleep Related Breathing Disorder (SRBD), 57% of men and 40% of women in the US snore. If left untreated it can lead to Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), one in five adults in the US suffer from some form of OSA. Untreated OSA can result in a number of health problems including hypertension, stroke, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy.

For mild to moderate OSA, use of oral appliances designed by qualified dentists is considered the first line of therapy in management of OSA. Depending on the severity of snoring related to body positions (supine or on the side), positional therapy in combination with an oral appliance can be a useful treatment to help improve quality of life measures.

Ability to identify and document snoring events is challenging for patients, especially for patients with no bed partners. Associating the snoring events with patients body position over the duration of sleep period can provide valuable information for recommending appropriate therapy.

The goal of this project is to build a novel device that can be given to patients for recording multiple nights of data. It should be easy to set up and operate (start, pause, stop) and non intrusive. The device should detect snoring sounds from background noises and patients' body position for the duration of sleep. This device should support privacy by erasing human voices and allowing rapid inspection of recorded data by patients. It should not require an active internet connection for operation. It will upload data to a secure portal on the availability of internet connection. This data will provide valuable information to interpreting sleep physicians as well as qualified dentists who provide non-CPAP treatment to manage snoring and sleep apnea.

Project Goal/Summary: To develop a data gathering, coordination and communication system for a swarm of aquatic drones. The team will build scale models of deployable drones and develop the outlined C3 system to physically test the ability of the small-scale swarm to sense regional water (ocean model) parameters; capture data, coordinate and plot data. Also critical will be the development of a communication system for both data transfer as well as a coordination system for actual control of individual drone movement. These system components, in particular, must empower drones to act with defined trajectories, allowing individual vs group, movement, course correction and coordination.

Background, Rationale and Project Scope:
The health of the ocean is critical for overall earth and human health function. Of concern is the increasing stress being placed on the world’s oceans, and for that matter other bodies of water including lakes and rivers. Increasing pollution from runoff and population growth; the increased release/dumping of pollutants, petrochemicals and garbage; lack of recyclability of plastics with generation of dispersed microplastics; and the list goes on - all collectively and exponentially are affecting ocean/water health. The relentless increase of ocean waste is at risk for impacting the health not only of the oceans but also those organisms who rely directly or indirectly on the sea. Climate change, as well, is a further stressor leading to an increase in sea level, a decrease in salinity, regional oxygen depletion and alteration of sea life - from the microscopic on up.

Here, autonomous AquaBot drones are being developed to monitor the state of the oceans, obtain regional samples (salinity, pH, Temp) and recover plastic and other contaminating materials from the oceans. To increase the efficiency of these devices it is intended that they will operate in a swarm or fleet mode. To work in this manner individual drones need to be able to communicate with each other and take directions from a central command control. The vessels (drones) should use an Automated Identification System protocol (AIS) to transmit their position and be able to monitor each other’s position. Key control parameters are collision avoidance, search pattern adherence, vessel integrity/health, sensor data communication, error reporting, diagnostics and maintenance reporting. A set of dummy drones can be used to develop and test the control methodologies – these will be three-d printed or modified from toys such as Create Toys Mini RC Submarine Boat RC Toy Remote Control Waterproof Diving Christmas Gift for Kids Boys - Walmart.com

Specifications – radio communications between vessels, data transmit, logging and displaying data, control of movement of one vessels vs another. Central display, networking of data within the swarm, low power consumption, capable of operating at 12V. Measurement of water temp, pH and conductivity.

Requirements: (1) Research into types of robotic intercommunication system available. (2) Identify how these systems can be adopted or improved (3) Identify low-cost sensing/communication systems for collision avoidance (4) Develop control strategy. (4) Demonstrate system operation through prototyping and testing of mini bots/drones, sensors and control system.
Skills Necessary: Mechanical Engineering, Control Engineering, Computer Programming, Machine Learning.

Project Background/Scope: Inflammation is a central driver of chronic disease affecting the kidney and heart. Inflammation typically drives acceleration of vascular disease – notably atherosclerosis, leading to a decline in blood perfusion of these vital organ. In addition, inflammation can directly affect cell and tissue function in these organs directly. In recent years increasing efforts have been focused on identifying sites and causes of inflammation in the body that can drive accelerated Kidney and Heart Disease.

It has been increasingly recognized recently that inflammation in the mouth, specifically periodontal inflammation – involving the specialized tissues that surround and support the teeth, is a potent site of inflammation with spillover effects accelerating disease in the body. Specific associations between periodontal inflammation and the progression of kidney and heart disease have been noted. In the periodontal space inflammation leads to the release of a range of inflammatory proteins – e.g. β-glucuronidase (βG), MMP-8, MMP-9, IL-6, IL-1β and Cystatin, which are detectable in a fluid termed the “gingivocrevicular fluid (GCF),” which is released and seeps into the “periodontal pocket,” - the area at the base of the tooth. Despite these new findings the ability to accurately measure periodontal inflammation, i.e. the release of these biomarkers in GCF, particularly via a means that can be readily performed rapidly at home does not exist.

Requirements: In the present project the advance of paper microfluidics will be utilized to design a system for rapid detection point-of-care detection and serial follow-up of recognized inflammatory markers in GCF, the system integrating a cell phone for data capture, analysis, quantitation, readout and telemetry.

As such requirements include: 1. A paper microfluidic wick system will be designed to accurately and rapidly collect GCF rather than ordinary saliva. 2. Embedded in the paper microfluidic element will be an ELISA system to allow reaction and detection of specific inflammatory markers including β-glucuronidase (βG), MMP-8, MMP-9, IL-6, IL-1β and Cystatin. 3. The system will be designed with a colorimetric readout suitable for cell phone imaging. 4. A program/app will be developed for image/data recording and relative intensity detection under uniform lighting (or with an intensity reference). 5. The program/app will have a user friendly readout/graphic user interface which will allow data display and serial plotting of data. 6. The system will allow for data telemetry for health provider access and integration in the electronic health record (EHR).

The device shall be able to travel across the flat ground, like a paved road
The main source of propulsion shall come from the physical power of the person who is riding the device
The device shall utilize rowing mechanics in order to generate propulsion
The device shall be able to accommodate a person who weighs up to 300 lbs
The device shall be able to accommodate a person who is between 5’0” and 6’6”
The device shall be designed with energy efficiency considerations (aerodynamics, friction, weight)
The device shall be able to withstand the normal wear and tear that a bicycle would experience
The device shall move in the direction that the rider is facing
The device shall be able to turn without the rider needing to pause their rowing motion
The device shall have a braking system
The device shall be able to be maintained and serviced similar to a bicycle

Ridgetop Group is seeking innovative ideas and solutions to upgrade the RF communication protocol for an Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensor network that is deployed in industrial applications under Ridgetop's Sentinel Motion product line. Sentinel Motion is an IoT-based sensor system that monitors mission critical equipment observing any combination of temperature and linear, rotatory, or vibrational force. This innovative technology was originally developed for helicopter gearbox systems while working with NASA, and has been adapted for the railroad industry. Sentinel Motion offers railroad operators a complete toolbox to monitor faults and anomalies associated with the track, wheel, and bearings. Sentinel Motion comprises a wireless network of RotoSense smart sensors, the Sentinel Gateway communications device, and the Sentinel MotionView software package for data acquisition, analysis, and sensor-gateway management. Additional technology details can be reviewed on the Ridgetop Group website here: https://www.ridgetopgroup.com/applications/transportation/safety-reliability-monitoring-rail-cars-tracks

Project Background/Scope: The role of the health care encounter – whether it be at the medical office, clinic, hospital, home or field is critical in obtaining relevant information to guide and direct the delivery and accuracy of care. Studies have demonstrated that more than 70% of diagnoses and advancement of care emanates from the physician or health worker carefully questioning and observing the patient. Sadly, patient encounters today have become shorter as to time spent, with the physician often hampered in examination focus by requirements of electronic health record (HER) data entry and use of a computer. Studies have also shown that many proper diagnoses are made by the doctor using information, such as: what and in what way the patient speaks, how the patient looks and acts, how the patient behaves, how the patient sits, how the patient walks, how the patient smells, and other information gained by focused attentive one–on–one patient encounters and consultations. In routine doctor-patient interactions today much of this information is not recorded and is lost.

This project will develop a “Smart Room” for patient examination able to capture much of this lost information. A kit will be designed that is portable, able to be placed in a given space utilized for patient examination. The kit will consist of: 1. Cameras (2-4) for image and motion capture; 2. microphones (2-4) for sound capture; 3. a handheld microphone for close patient examination (e.g. convertible or integrated with a stethoscope); 4. a handheld camera for close examination; and 5. a handheld microscope for extreme close-up image capture. Central to the kit will be an interface able to input all of these sources, and a computer system with large graphic display able to portray all inputs. The sophistication of the system will be in developed algorithms - i.e. in the systems’ ability to measure specific parameters from the input captured signals and display the processed time-synched information. Parameters to be measured include: accurate dimensions of a body part, accurate movement analysis (the system will incorporate MOCA - a system recently developed allowing image and motion quantitation (see Applied Sciences, 12(12), 6173. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12126173; sounds – including speech, breathing, heart sounds, AV graft/fistula sounds – analyzing them as to frequency, amplitude, pitch, phase and other subtle metadata including HNR (harmonic to noise ratio), NHR (noise to harmonic ratio), energy entropy (EE), short time energy (STE), zero crossing rate (ZCR), spectral roll off (SR), spectral centroid (SC) and spectral flux (SF) to estimate stress related acoustic high level features such as jitter and shimmer. Patient vital signs and weight will also be measured and inputed. Processed data needs to be able to be displayed as well as be compressed and stored in a fashion that may be incorporated in the electronic health record for ready serial access and display of evolving trends

The long-term goal and hope here it that from additional patient quantitative data gathered by the wired room, that new “digital biomarkers” may emerge stemming from serial evaluation of parameters measured over time. These new biomarkers will ultimately enhance the precision of clinical care.

Requirements: (1) Develop a smart room kit able to capture patient image, motion and sound data. (2) Develop algorithms to analyze all inputs and quantitate parameters based on input data. (3) Develop a record keeping and display system for serial trend analysis. (4) Integrate raw and processed data into means of storage and recall from an electronic health record.

The device shall be able to attach to at least 4 animal species - initial focus, dog, cat, horse and cow.
The device shall remain attached for > 1 week on 99.5% of animals tested.
The device shall remain attached for > 4 weeks on 80% of animals tested.
The device (sensor platform, not including SW/app) shall cost <$10 per sensor platform.
The device shall weigh less than 1 ounce.
The device shall be less than .79 in^2
The device shall have a vertical depth (from bottom, skin touching surface to top surface of the sensor platform) of ⅕ in.
The device’s life (battery or other) shall be greater than 4 weeks.
The device shall be able to withstand the normal wear and tear that an animal would experience in or outdoors (see lifetime req)
The device shall measure position, movement (velocity and acceleration), heart rate and location.
The device shall be able to measure through fur, hair or skin on the all species in req #1.
The device shall be accurate enough to be useful in all sensor functions - very vague, team will need to do scope research here.
The device shall directly communicate with a phone app that read’s out data. Again, scope needed here, some readout needed, but the app is the secondary development, the sensor platform first. Readout will be long distance in the future, but for short-term feasibility, near range read-out or even download via touch, would be acceptable.

To design and create 3d printed affordable and sustainable housing structures using mine tailings as feedstock. Proper material mixture and recipes will be crucial, a mixture of mine tailings with cement will also be considered as a possible input material.

Project Background/Scope: Kidney disease leading to chronic kidney disease (CKD) and eventually kidney failure is a leading cause of death that is on the rise in the U.S. Kidney disease affects an estimated 37 million people in the U.S. (15% of the adult population; more than 1 in 7 adults). Approximately 90% of those with kidney disease don't know they have it! 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. (approximately 80 million) is at risk for kidney disease. Kidney disease is more common in women (14%) than men (12%). But for every 2 women who develop end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), 3 men’s kidneys fail.

Impedance (water content) and Edema (swelling): The delicate balance of fluid and blood circulating in the body is maintained through healthy function of the heart and kidneys, amongst other organs. If disease strikes these organs, fluid tends to migrate from within the vascular space (blood vessels) into soft tissues causing swelling (edema) and regional dysfunction. As humans largely exist in an upright fashion this fluid, because of gravity, tends to accumulate in the lower extremities. Having a device able to readily measure the water content of the leg as well as the edema (swelling) that develops will be an advance that can impact the lives of many patients, guiding therapy for fluid removal.

Movement: Additionally, many CKD patients and those on dialysis develop Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) - a condition of overwhelming urge to move the legs during rest, which can be relieved temporarily by movement. Symptoms of RLS are estimated to affect up to 25% of patients on dialysis RLS has been associated with an increase in sleep disturbance, higher cardiovascular morbidity, decreased quality of life, and an increased risk of death in patients with CKD. Developing a sensor system able to measure the degree of leg movement, and record its extent and frequency will be of great value in managing this morbid condition. This sensor will be incorporated in an integrated device measuring water and edema.

Requirements: 1. Develop a system to measure the impedance of the lower extremity to determine leg water, relative to body water; 2. A series of stretch sensors incorporated in a stocking-like device to measure swelling at a given level of the leg; 3. Incorporated accelerometers to measure movement of legs – determining extent, frequency and pattern over time; 4. A software module and graphical user interface to provide data processing, readout, storage and telemetry of the data.

In many industries such as manufacturing or pharmaceuticals, there are many small items involved! Pills, screws, machined parts, very small rocks, you name it! These objects can be tedious to handle and time consuming to sort. Ain't nobody got time for that! If only there was a way to just..."sipht" through it all!
SIPhTR has many design challenges and will make use of many interesting pieces of technology.

Mechanical design to load items from the hopper to the staging area one at a time
Image acquisition hardware to clearly capture the item to be sorted
Computer electronics with image processing and sorting algorithms
Robotics to physically sort processed material
...And probably more!

A Three Tiered Challenge
Challenge 1 - SIPhT by COLOR!
Given an assortment of small items of uniform shape and size, SIPhTR shall sort by color
SIPhTR shall be able to physically sort at least 12 different colors, but the electronics shall be programmable to algorithmically sort more
Assumed size of bead to be used shall be a standard "perler" or fuse bead with dimensions as shown below
Challenge 2 - SIPhT by SHAPE!
Given an assortment of small items, SIPhTR shall sort by size and shape
SIPhTR shall be able to physically sort at least 12 unique sizes and shapes, but the electronics shall be programmable to algorithmically sort more
The resolution of objects to be sorted shall be 500 microns. SIPhTR shall support items as small as 3 mm3 and as large as 15 mm3.
Challenge 3 - SIPhT with OCR
Given an assortment of lettered beads, SIPhTR shall sort with optical character recognition (OCR)
Letters can be assumed to be from the roman alphabet
Lettered beads can be assumed to be uniform shape and size
Other Performance Specifications
Speed
In order to be as efficient as possible, SIPhTR should sort quickly! At a rate of at least 0.2 Hz (or 1 bead every 5 seconds) but the team should stretch for a rate of 1 Hz.