Health and Well-Being

Controlling both outdoor and indoor air pollution is crucial for protecting human health and the environment. Outdoor air pollution from industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, global warming, and environmental degradation. Indoor air pollution can also cause chronic respiratory conditions and other health issues. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), outdoor air pollution causes approximately 4.2 million premature deaths annually, while indoor air pollution accounts for around 3.8 million premature deaths each year. Traditionally, wet scrubbers are used to reduce air pollution, ensuring regulatory compliance and protecting human health. However, they have drawbacks such as scaling, fouling, inefficient pollutant removal, and generating solid waste. These issues lead to frequent maintenance, high operational costs, and environmental pollution. This technology addresses these pain points by utilizing an array of water jets without the need for packing materials. This innovative solution offers more efficient pollutant removal, reduced maintenance, a compact design, and lower energy consumption, effectively solving the problems associated with traditional wet scrubbers. The technology owner is seeking collaborations with companies in the chemical/ pharmaceutical/ steel manufacturing sector for test-bedding and research and development (R&D) projects that require an eco-friendly scrubber.

Dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, is a significant socioeconomic burden in aging societies. Traditional blood tests are unable to  detect Alzheimer's biomarkers despite that the biomarkers appear 10-20 years before the appearance of cognitive decline symptoms. A groundbreaking ultrasensitive blood biomarker detection technology has been developed to overcome this limitation. This patented technology detects disease biomarkers at femtogram (fg/mL) levels, achieving sensitivity over 10,000 times higher than conventional methods. In addition to advanced biomarker detection, a comprehensive lifelog data collection technology has been integrated. Using smart rings and other wearable devices, extensive lifelog data is gathered, including sleep patterns, activities, and urine test results. This multimodal data collection supports the creation of the world’s largest Asian Senior Cohort, targeting over 30,000 individuals for the next 5 years. A key component of this innovative approach is the AI-based data analysis for the diagnosis and prognosis of dementia and cognitive dysfunction. AI algorithms analyze the comprehensive datasets, providing precise diagnostic insights and predicting disease progression. This AI-driven analysis, combined with ultrasensitive biomarker detection and detailed lifelog data, forms a robust data platform for early diagnosis, continuous monitoring, and personalized healthcare solutions. By focusing on these cutting-edge technologies, this platform offers a holistic and precise approach to managing cognitive health in super-aging societies. This innovative solution supports precision medicine and provides a comprehensive method for the early detection and ongoing management of dementia and other age-related diseases.

The demand for improved healthcare, coupled with increasing life expectancy and a growing elderly population, alongside resource constraints, necessitates the implementation of a 24/7 remote monitoring system equipped with an accurate risk prediction process. This process should forecast potential risks for individuals, enabling early detection and remote alerts to promptly alert healthcare providers and individual caregivers, thereby enhancing the well-being of those under care. A Japanese technology owner has developed a Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor technology, characterised by executing a risk prediction process to predict risks for the monitored individuals based on presence range and posture.  Unlike conventional camera-based systems, the proposed technology emphasises the privacy of the monitored individual by abstaining from capturing actual photos or images. Through the implementation of a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, it can discern whether the individual under observation is absent from the bed, lying flat on it, sitting at its edge, or lying on the floor next to the bed. A web-based user interface had been developed to provide healthcare professionals various degrees of warning, e.g., patient at safe zone, gray zone, caution zone or bed edge zone. The technology owner is looking to work with healthcare providers, agencies or developers providing housing for the elderly, or technology companies for test bedding trials, as well as research and development collaborations to customise the technology for specific use cases.

Issues associated with odor generation present significant challenges in various aspects of daily life, encompassing unpleasant smells from various sources such as toilets, kitchens, pets, tobacco, hospitals, and transportation. These unwanted odors have a detrimental impact on individual well-being, social interactions, and overall environmental quality. Deodorants play a crucial role in addressing these challenges, fostering a more comfortable and hygiene environment. However, conventional deodorants primarily rely on masking the unwanted odors with a strong fragrance, resulting in a slow and ineffective deodorization process, particularly against strong smells. The technology owner has developed a proprietary formulation that offers an effective deodorization approach. Unlike common deodorants, the unique deodorant using the proprietary formulation can remove the sources of unpleasant smells through chemical reactions. It demonstrates remarkable efficiency against a broad spectrum of odors, including those from rotting fish and meat, rotting eggs and milk, rotting vegetable waste, ammonia in toilets, sweat, and body odor. This innovative solution has the potential to revolutionise odor control across diverse scenarios. The technology owner is seeking R&D collaboration with industrial partners who are interested in incorporating this deodorant into their products and applications.

Collagen is a structural protein prevalent in the connective tissues of all organisms, and is the building block of biomaterial that is essential in wound healing and tissue regeneration. Through a patented extraction method, a novel Type I Amphibian collagen has been valorised from discarded skins, an agrifood waste stream and processed into a medical grade collagen biomaterial. The extracted pristine native amphibian collagen possesses unique properties, combining attributes associated with aquatic and land-based collagen sources, giving the extracted collagen more versatility than conventional sources of collagen. The Type I Amphibian collagen possesses a higher biocompatibility and water solubility as compared to mammalian sources of collagen, with a better thermostability profile, than marine sources of collagen. The technology provider has demonstrated the medical application of this extracted collagen by developing a range of specialised wound dressings, specifically designed for the management of chronic wounds. These dressing will significantly improve clinical outcomes and increase the rate of chronic wound closure.  The technology provider is looking for partnerships or collaborations to transform this pristine collagen into medical products. Additionally, with a pristine collagen extract, hydrolysing them into smaller fragments (collagen peptides) that can be customised to the needs of the partnership or collaboration, for the medical/cosmeceutical/nutraceutical industry. 

Disinfectants are chemicals that kill or inactivate harmful microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Commonly used to disinfect surfaces and objects that are frequently touched, disinfectants are an important tool for preventing the spread of infectious diseases and reducing the risk of transmission. The technology on offer is a long-lasting active compound that serves as a disinfectant. Comprising of nanocomposites and polycondensates, the disinfecting active compound exhibits high efficacy against a broad spectrum of microorganisms including bacteria and viruses. Due to the controlled release effect of active species, the disinfectant’s efficacy can last at least 3 months by accumulation of the active species on the surface of microorganisms and denaturing of the microorganisms’ proteins. This technology is safe and non-toxic to humans and pets, making it applicable for a wide variety of products. The technology owner is interested in joint R&D/co-development projects with partners keen to integrate this technology for new products/applications.

Arm and hand impairment is the major problem usually found in stroke patients, which extremely affects their quality of life. Moreover, motor rehabilitation using conventional physical therapy is ineffective in stroke patients who have severe to moderate arm and hand impairment due to inability to perform voluntary movement. In order to help these patients regain arm and hand function, we have researched and developed brain-computer interface system for motor rehabilitation in stroke patients. This system can help stroke patients learn how to do voluntary arm and hand movement by using only their thoughts or brain signals; additionally, it can also enhance neural plasticity that is the key concept in stroke recovery. Finally, we aim to distribute this technology to the department of rehabilitation in hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, and home use.

To address the challenges in chewing and swallowing faced by the elderly and other special care groups such as stroke patients, researchers from a Thai university have developed ready-to-eat wholemeal purees that serve as an all-in-one meal support. Suitable for those on an IDDSI Level 4 diet, it is designed as a healthy, special care food to provide high nutritional values and energy and to aid health rehabilitation and recovery. In addition to patients with dysphagia, this puree is also suitable for health-conscious consumers.  The team is seeking partners to bring the product to commercialisation and obtain certification according to global standards. They are also open to further develop and customise new products.

This technology offer features a natural remedy for scar reduction. The formulation integrates 15% shallot (Allium ascalonicum) extract and 0.01% quercetin, both well-known for their antioxidant potency and anti-wrinkle effects. These active ingredients are also known for their scar treatment properties. This formulation is positioned as an innovative alternative for individuals afflicted with elevated scars arising from surgical interventions, acne, or various traumatic injuries.  The shallot extract is obtained by employing environmentally conscious solvents alongside an ultrasonic extraction technique that is simpler and more efficient than conventional processes. Further elevating its efficacy, the encapsulation of pivotal quercetin within nanotechnology constructs facilitates heightened skin absorption.