UA technology part of device in TIME Magazine’s 2024 top inventions list

Technology developed at The University of Akron is part of a medical device included in TIME’s Best Inventions, the magazine’s annual list of top inventions.

The magazine’s 2024 list includes a device known as Amplio, which is the world’s first wearable 3D full-color surgical microscope. It is a platform technology with capabilities that include surgical magnification, fluorescence imaging, night vision, surgical navigation, computer vision, artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

The UA technology in Amplio improves the surgical lenses, known as loupes, that surgeons use during procedures. The improved lenses offer enhanced surgical visualization with microscope functionality and optimized real-time imaging. The technology was developed by Dr. Yang Liu, who was an assistant professor in UA’s Department of Biomedical Engineering from 2013 to 2018. Liu and his team at UA also developed the initial prototypes to prove the concept and demonstrate the feasibility.

“We are pleased to see Amplio recognized as one of the year’s top inventions,” said Dr. Suzanne B. Bausch, vice president of research and business engagement and president of UARF. “This device will be a game-changing piece of equipment for surgeons. The University of Akron’s technology plays an integral role in the device.”

The start-up company Unify Medical, which is bringing the Amplio device to market, has an exclusive license for the technology from UA through the University of Akron Research Foundation (UARF).

The University was issued a U.S. patent in December 2020 for the imaging and display system. The display presents a composite image that includes pre-operative surgical navigation images, images taken during a surgical procedure, and real-time microscope images or sensing data.

Two other U.S. patent applications and several foreign patent applications for UA-related technology used in Amplio are now pending.

“This technology will transform surgical care, optimizing capabilities of surgeons and enhancing patient outcomes,” said Kelly Bialek, acting director of technology transfer, intellectual property management and federal reporting in UA’s Office of Technology Transfer. “We have worked closely with Unify Medical on the platform technology for several years now, and it is great to see recognition for a technology that is, and will be, transformative.”

Two hundred inventions were selected for TIME’s list. Categories include consumer electronics, beauty, apps and software, home health, design, food and drink, AI, accessibility and more. Amplio is one of 20 inventions recognized by TIME in the medical care category.

Every year for more than two decades, TIME editors have highlighted the most impactful new products and ideas in TIME’s Best Inventions issue. To compile this year's list, the magazine solicited nominations from TIME’s editors and correspondents around the world, and through an online application process, paying special attention to growing fields such as health care, AI and green energy. Each contender was evaluated on a number of key factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition and impact.

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