Toussaint takes home two honors from second annual Innovation@Brown Showcase

Date October 4, 2024

Kimani Toussaint and Wafik El-Deiry, M.D. Photo credit: Curtis Stoychoff

Senior Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Initiatives at the School of Engineering and Thomas J. Watson, Sr. Professor of Science Kimani Toussaint was awarded both Innovator of the Year and Innovation of the Year for his work with Brown Technology Innovations. Toussaint shared Innovator of the Year accolades with Warren Alpert Medical School Professor Wafik El-Deiry, M.D., based on the number of invention disclosures. Toussaint’s “Pulse Oximetry without Skin Tone Bias” won Innovation of the Year, marking the second year in as many that an engineering professor has garnered the most votes in the showcase competition.

The Innovation@Brown showcase is an opportunity for Rhode Island’s entrepreneurs, startup founders, venture capitalists, and industry leaders to preview cutting-edge technologies, startups, and innovative ideas emerging out of Brown University. Awards for Startup of the Year, Inventor of the Year and Innovation of the Year were awarded to Brown-affiliated ventures, while more than 20 early stage ventures lined the halls of the Rhode Island Venture Cafe.

Five of the top seven semifinalists for Innovation of the Year came from engineering, with Toussaint and L. Herbert Ballou University Professor Leigh Hochberg advancing to the final round at the cafe and pitching their ventures that evening. Engineering faculty Jimmy Xu, Angus Kingon and Brian Sheldon, and Ian Gonsher joined Butch Rovan of the music department and Warren Alpert Medical School’s Jake Kurtis, with Rovan joining Hochberg and Toussaint to advance to the finals stage.

“As an academic, it truly is an honor to be recognized as an inventor, particularly among such an outstanding group of fellow researchers with amazing inventions,” Toussaint said. “It’s a nice reminder that our work has the potential to impact the world beyond academia.”

Toussaint and his team are developing a novel photoplethysmography (PPG) technique that leverages optical polarization for more accurate estimates of blood oxygen. PPG is an optical technique that monitors blood oxygen saturation levels, typically through the use of pulse oximeters. Conventional pulse oximetry has been found to overestimate blood oxygen for individuals with appreciable amounts of melanin in their skin. As a result, those with darker skin tones are close to three times more likely to suffer from silent hypoxia. Toussaint’s innovation is a potential solution to this prevalent problem for people of color in health care delivery.

With support from Brown Technology Innovations (part of the University’s Office of the Vice President for Research), Brown faculty can transition research ideas into impactful commercial ventures. In 2023, Engineering Associate Professor Kareen Coulombe’s “Engineered Cardiac Tissues for Regeneration” received the most votes at the inaugural showcase.

The rest of the innovation finalists

Hochberg and contributors Assistant Professor (Research) John Simeral, graduate student Stefan Lutschg Espinosa, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience (Research) Carolos Vargas-Irwin, undergraduate Natalie Herrick, Senior Research Associate David Rosler and Braingate Research Engineer Thomas Hosman, are working on a “Virtual Keyboard for Use with an Intracortical Brain-Computer Interface.” This technology is a design for a virtual keyboard that can allow for fast, accurate typing for communication using an iBCI. The virtual keyboard consists of multiple rows, each row holding ten keys of characters (letters and numbers). Users click on keys by imagining pressing each finger down, and different rows on the keyboard can be accessed using additional imagined hand or finger gestures.

Xu, the Charles C. Tillinghast Jr. ’32 University Professor of Engineering and Physics, is supported by Senior Research Associate Petr Moroshkin in the venture “Hyperspectral Quantum Imaging and Quantum Navigation.” Xu’s lab has developed a platform that differs from conventional quantum imaging in that it is hyperspectral (based on information from multiple bands of the electromagnetic spectrum), and it differs from classical hyperspectral imaging in that it is quantum. Thus, it has the potential to be used for imaging objects with both spatial and spectral information in exquisite detail beyond the reach of current technologies

Barrett Hazeltine University Professor of Entrepreneurship and Organizational Studies and Professor of Engineering Angus Kingon and Professor of Engineering Brian Sheldon, with support from Associate Professor (Research) Seunghyun Kim and Postdoctoral Researcher Changmin Shi, are working on “Novel Polymer Solid Electrolyte for Li-ion Batteries.” The team has developed a new polymer composite film that blocks lithium dendrite growth, promising higher energy density and faster charging for lithium-ion battery systems.

Assistant Professor of the Practice Ian Gonsher’s newest innovation, “Deep-Surface Liquid Crystal Display,” emerged from design research in his class 1951C CSCI Designing Humanity Centered Technology. This 3D display uses layered transparent deep surface liquid crystal display (DS-LCD) screens in configuration. Because the screens require no additional components such as 3D glasses, AR or VR wearable devices, or a particular viewing position, they can produce a deep surface experience that is integrated directly into the built environment.

Kurtis’ innovation, “Human Monoclonal Antibody for Treatment and Prevention of Malaria” identifies PfGARP as a novel target for development of vaccines and treatments for P. falciparum malaria. His team is now developing a therapeutic monoclonal antibody that can be used as a treatment for severe malaria and as a prophylactic for pregnant women, people living in highly seasonal transmission areas, and short-term travelers.

Rovan’s innovation, “Accessible Interface for Interactive Musical Composition and Performance” is a solution for visually impaired performers of interactive computer music. Rovan has developed a fully accessible interface for interactive musical composition and performance, consisting of features such as touch-sensitive controls and audio feedback cues, encapsulated in a unique asymmetric layout allowing for easier interaction and control.