At Draper, biomedical research and development efforts are aimed at revolutionizing healthcare through innovative technologies and solutions. We focus on enhancing human organ systems, bioprocessing technologies, medical devices, and disease diagnostics, pushing the boundaries of medical science.
Health and Human Performance
Our expertise in Health and Human Performance encompasses an approach to advancing the capabilities and well-being of individuals across various domains. We focus on optimizing human performance in diverse environments, including healthcare and defense.
Bioelectronics
Bioelectronic technology offers a promising avenue with reduced health risks, fewer side effects, and lower costs compared to invasive procedures and medications. Our focus is on creating advanced miniaturized devices that are intelligent, safe, and scalable. We specialize in designing, building, and testing networks of implantable and wearable devices.
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Microfluidic ECMO
To improve health outcomes for ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) patients, Draper engineered a microfluidic blood oxygenator called BLOx that mimics human the physiological patterns of blood flow in the natural microcirculation
ECMO therapy oxygenates blood and removes carbon dioxide, supporting premature infants, transplant patients and those with respiratory failure. Traditional microfluidic oxygenators face challenges with clotting, bleeding and blood health stability, but Draper’s microfluidic device is the first to show long-term stable performance with minimal thrombus formation in large animal studies.
BLOx features branched microfluidic microchannels that mimic human vasculature, creating uniform flow and pressure to reduce thrombosis and inflammation. Benefits include reduced shear stress, efficient oxygen transfer, and lower blood prime volume. The advanced prototype supports a 1 L/minute flow rate, suitable for pediatric use. Draper’s innovation represents a significant step toward anticoagulant-free operation, improving ICU patient outcomes.
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Quantifying Performance Readiness
The Measuring and Advancing Soldier Tactical Readiness and Effectiveness (MASTR-E) Program was developed under the US ARMY DEVCOM Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (DEVCOM SC). Draper provided technical leadership and expertise throughout the 72-hour field study data collection events that occurred in 2021 and 2022 for the MASTR-E Program. Our team supported data collection throughout the event and conducted principal component analyses on questionnaire-based data collected to see which surveys contributed to identifying individual states and traits that influenced performance. Since the studies, our team has leveraged data collected during the RUCK activities to develop a predictive fatigue algorithm, providing an enhanced capability to anticipate potential risks of fatigue-related injuries. This work is culminating in a presentation at I/ITSEC. Approved for Public Release PR2024-1343”.
Neural Evidence Aggregation Tool (NEAT)
In today’s stressful society, depression and anxiety are increasing, leading to a concerning rise in suicide rates. Such trends are especially acute for military personnel who face the stress of combat and long deployments. DARPA’s NEAT Program aims to save lives through early detection of mental illness and suicide ideation. Because at-risk individuals are often unwilling to disclose mental health issues, NEAT focuses on preconscious signals, collected before conscious responses are formed, for assessing what individuals believe about their behavioral health. The Draper system uses multi-sensory stimuli to elicit preconscious signals, detected by multimodal sensors, which are then processed by an advanced, machine learning-based classification pipeline to create a user-friendly, reliable assessment tool that provides actionable insights into what at-risk individuals believe about their mental health status. The Draper team, which combines the neurophysiological and clinical expertise of scientists from McLean Hospital, GTRC, and MGH with Draper expertise in machine learning and system development, successfully demonstrated multimodal data collection in October 2023 and will further demonstrate its processing pipeline in 2024.
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Pediatric Heart Valve
Babies and young children with heart valve defects currently have no good options for heart valve replacement. In collaboration with the top children’s hospitals* in the nation, our engineers are designing the smallest pediatric heart valve developed to date that can “grow” as fast as kids do: the Low-force Expanding/Adaptable Pediatric (LEAP) Valve. This innovative device features a unique stent design that can actively expand from 7 mm to 14 mm in diameter, without the need for intervention or additional surgeries, providing a solution for young patients as they grow from birth to 5-6 years old. The LEAP Valve is currently in preclinical development, with demonstrated feasibility in a growing animal model. Our goal is to get this device to children as quickly and safely as possible.
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Bioprocessing
We specialize in designing and developing microfluidic hardware, software and disposable systems tailored to meet the demands of rapidly evolving diagnostics and biomanufacturing tools.
In collaboration with industry, Draper has produced advances in biomanufacturing technologies. Draper’s engineers created best-in-class hardware for performing key unit bioprocessing operations required for decreasing the cost of manufacture of cancer immunotherapies and improving access to these new lifesaving medicines. Our solutions automate and streamline bioprocessing unit operations and have modular flexibility to adjust for evolving requirements of the manufacturing process, multiple cell types, donor variations, and new payloads.
Together with pharma partners as well as sponsorship from FDA, NIH, DARPA and others, our acoustic cell separation technology permits label-free or labelled isolation of cells and pathogens for downstream processing without the need for magnetic beads or antibodies. Additionally, Draper engineered a microfluidic device that improves the co-localization and binding of target cells and viral vectors to deliver higher rates of viral transduction using less vector in a fraction of the time when compared to standard methods using static culture. In collaboration with industry, Draper engineered a continuous-flow electroporation module that uses high-precision microfluidics to tightly control cell exposure to electrical current, increase throughput to 10 billion cells per hour while simultaneously reducing manual touch labor eliminating hours of processing time and cost for cell therapy manufacturing process.
Our unique Differential Mobility Spectrometry (DMS) technology allows for rapid and portable analysis of bioreactor conditions enabling detection of sterility failure in hours rather than days. Draper’s innovative manufacturing technologies and approaches reduce cost, shorten the timeline for production, advance domestic competitiveness and reduce supply chain risk of biologics and cellular and gene therapies.
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Medical Devices
We develop medical devices that enhance healthcare for the patient and healthcare providers. Our team consists of experts in various fields such as microelectronics, advanced materials, microfluidics, analytics and design controls. Our approach involves designing intelligent devices that leverage innovative technology to prioritize reliability, safety and efficacy.
Microfluidic ECMO
To improve health outcomes for ECMO patients, Draper engineered a microfluidic blood oxygenator called BLOx that mimics human body conditions. ECMO therapy oxygenates blood and removes carbon dioxide, supporting premature infants, transplant patients and those with respiratory failure.
Traditional microfluidic oxygenators face challenges with high flow rates and blood health stability, but Draper’s microfluidic device is the first to show long-term stable performance with minimal thrombus formation in large animal studies. BLOx features branched microfluidic microchannels that mimic human vasculature, creating uniform flow and pressure to reduce thrombosis and inflammation.
Benefits include reduced shear stress, efficient oxygen transfer, and lower blood prime volume. The advanced prototype supports a 1 L/minute flow rate, suitable for pediatric use. Draper’s innovation represents a significant step toward anticoagulant-free operation, improving ICU patient outcomes.
Additional Information
Pediatric Heart Valve
Babies and young children with heart valve defects currently have no good options for heart valve replacement. In collaboration with the top children’s hospitals* in the nation, our engineers are designing the smallest pediatric heart valve developed to date that can “grow” as fast as kids do: the Low-force Expanding/Adaptable Pediatric (LEAP) Valve. This innovative device features a unique stent design that can actively expand from 7 mm to 14 mm in diameter, without the need for intervention or additional surgeries, providing a solution for young patients as they grow from birth to 5-6 years old. The LEAP Valve is currently in preclinical development, with demonstrated feasibility in a growing animal model. Our goal is to get this device to children as quickly and safely as possible.
