Stony Brook Receives Seed Funding Through SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund

The State University of New York at Stony Brook is one of five campuses to be included in the latest round of seed funding through the SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF), which provides grants to faculty inventors and scientists.

Grants totaling $400,000 will support groundbreaking research at five campuses, including Stony Brook, the State University of New York at Albany, State University of New York at Binghamton, State University of New York at Buffalo and SUNY Upstate Medical University.

"SUNY is a national leader in interdisciplinary research that develops state-of-the-art technologies, saves lives, transforms industries, and serves the public good," said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. in his September 14 announcement of the grants. "Through the SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund, we are proud to continue investing in cutting-edge research and celebrate the vision, passion, and purpose that our researchers embody."

The SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund helps support critical research - such as feasibility studies, prototyping, and testing - which demonstrate that an idea or innovation has commercial potential. The goal is to accelerate time to market for these innovations and increase their market readiness for potential investors, strategic partners, and customers.

The Stony Brook University project receiving TAF funding is for "Terahertz Spectral Imaging for Diagnosis of Skin Burns." When a patient experiences a burn injury, they may undergo multiple surgeries to reconstruct the injured area because of inaccuracies in burn diagnosis. M. Hassan Arbab, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has developed a handheld, portable scanner for the diagnosis and triage of burn injuries with 93- 95 percent or better accuracy, as compared to the current rate of clinical techniques around 60-65 percent, greatly expanding diagnostic capabilities and improving the care provided to patients.

"Stony Brook University is proud to see Dr. Arbab's innovative work recognized with a Technology Accelerator Award," said Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith. "At Stony Brook, we have a long and successful track record of translating our research breakthroughs into real-world impact to benefit humanity, which is exemplified by Dr. Arbab's visionary technology. The sophisticated handheld device he has developed uses terahertz imaging to help clinicians more safely, conveniently and accurately assess burn injuries exemplifying our excellence in transformational medical diagnostics. Achievements like this and so many others across our campus elevate our mission to advance the frontiers of knowledge and use these discoveries to benefit our communities, our great state, the country, and the world."

The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "SUNY research uses revolutionary breakthroughs to fuel economies and empower communities. With continued support from the Technology Accelerator Fund, SUNY's researchers are able to commercialize initiatives that will improve the lives of people throughout New York State and beyond."

The SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund awards grants through a highly competitive process that weighs several factors, including the availability of intellectual property protection, marketability, commercial potential, feasibility, and breadth of impact. Since the launch of the Technology Accelerator Fund in 2011, SUNY has invested more than $5.1 million in the program to successfully advance the commercial readiness of 99 innovations born at SUNY campuses. The program has catalyzed follow-on investment of an additional $41 million from development partners, including government agencies, industry licensees, and early-stage investors.