Challenge accepted
Fetal heart rate monitoring is a critical technique that offers clues to a fetus’s well-being. It has also been credited with reducing the number of stillbirths since its invention in the 1930s. Yet, two challenges exist: reliably capturing cardiac signals when the fetus moves and adjusting the simple, inexpensive but cumbersome, ultrasound transducer’s elastic band on a pregnant belly.
University of Minnesota biomedical engineering majors, Class ’24: Niyati Alluri, Sydney Beck, Maya Johnson, Allison Lundborg, and Daniel Russell
Stephen Contag, physician, University of Minnesota Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Shruti Iyer, director of product strategy, Oracle
This University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering team designed “FetalFocus,” an ultrasound transducer positioning aid that allows the physician to better place and consistently track the fetal heart rate. The students placed third out of 17 student groups from across the United States at the Design of Medical Devices Conferenceon the Twin Cities campus—the world’s largest gathering of its kind.
Conventional burials account for 64,000 tons of steel, 1.6 million tons of concrete, and 4 million gallons of embalming fluid annually in the United States. Cremation, by contrast, releases a yearly carbon output equivalent to burning roughly 400 million pounds of coal.
University of Minnesota mechanical engineering majors, Class ’24: Hung Dinh, Conner Glaser, Ann Nguyen, Jacob Schmidt, and Jenna Westlake
Erik Halaas, owner, Live On Minnesota—which was a 2023 MN Cup finalist
The “Human Composting Vessel” breaks down the body into inorganic material, offering an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burial and cremation.
Essentially, the body is laid into the vessel—(see image) like the prototype the students developed—alongside natural materials, such as wood chips, straw, alfalfa, and wildflowers, and the natural microbial process, with some support, breaks down the body over a couple of months. The end result is a cubic yard of nutrient-rich compost, which can be used to plant a tree and support a garden or broader ecological restoration efforts.
Ben Guengerich, director of the Anderson Student Innovation Labs at the University of Minnesota, was also a technical advisor on the project.
During the course of the project, Halaas helped to coordinate a grassroots advocacy group that legalized natural organic reduction in Minnesota. (The bill passed in the 2024 legislative session with an implementation date of July 1, 2025.)
"The students have played an integral role in helping to inform my startup, a concept that was really born out of conversation at the Toaster," said Halaas, who served as innovation outreach and program specialist at the University of Minnesota Toaster Innovation Hub.
"Their efforts to help me develop a Minnesota-made, natural organic reduction prototype has led to them walking away with the best physical prototype award [at their department showcase], my startup gaining more traction, and the Natural Organic Reduction bill passing this legislative session,” he said.
Your chance of skin damage scales up with the intensity of UV radiation and duration of exposure. Also, prolonged exposure can contribute to eye damage, including cataracts. Current UV monitoring products run in the $200+ range, plus they’re large, clunky, and not user friendly.
University of Minnesota electrical engineering majors, Class ’24: Hunter Berger, Andy Lambrecht, Maximilian Percy, Jedidiah Pratt, Joseph Renk, and Peter Tran
Hye Yoon Park, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, University of Minnesota
“SunGuard,” a UV-level detector and app that could integrate into existing smart watch designs. The team’s prototype watch and app, built with electronics and parts totaling $53.38, features real-time UV tracking and a sunscreen timer. A “SunGuard Clip” that fastens to shirts and hats was discussed.