BioPhoT Industry Challenge

Breath cuff - measures biomarkers of human stress in real time, such as respiratory rate/depth, blood oxygen level or HRV. It changes colour when physiological markers indicate the presence of stress. The bracelet would motivate the person to perform breathing exercises until the body returns to a state of calm. It would be a simple, accessible solution that teaches in real time how to recognise stress and do exercises to return to a state of calm. Red - stress (time to do a breathing routine). The person calms down and the bracelet stays green.

An in vitro skin model for mite feeding is needed.

Lymph node-on-a-chip for early-stage vaccine testing offers a human-relevant in vitro platform to study immune responses under dynamic, physiologically relevant conditions.

Traditional animal models often poorly predict human immune reactions due to species-specific differences in lymphoid tissue architecture and signaling. This limits their utility for evaluating early vaccine candidates, especially in terms of human-specific antigen presentation and adaptive immunity.

By mimicking the structure and flow of human lymph nodes, lymph node-on-a-chip systems enable controlled co-culture of dendritic cells, T and B cells, and simulate immune activation following vaccine or adjuvant exposure. This allows real-time monitoring of key markers like cytokine release, T cell priming, and antibody production, providing valuable insights early in the development pipeline.

Such platforms can improve predictive accuracy, reduce reliance on animal testing, and accelerate the selection of promising vaccine candidates before costly in vivo trials. Business case – reagent kits and protocols or CRO.

Microbiota – Host coculture Medium addresses a key bottleneck in organ on chip development: the co-culture of human epithelial cells with anaerobic gut microbiota.

Traditional media cannot support both cell types simultaneously, leading to loss of microbial variability or epithelial barrier dysfunction.

Such dual media optimized for perfused chips or other systems providing an oxygenated basal medium for epithelial/endothelial support and an anaerobic apical medium for microbial viability, while maintaining mucosal integrity and metabolic realism could be high value in industry.

SThis capability is essential for predictive in vitro testing of probiotics, microbiota-modulating drugs, antibiotics, and infection models. It enables real-time analysis of host–microbe interactions, immune signaling, and metabolite responses under physiologically relevant conditions.

The business case here is pharma and microbiome companies increasingly require human-relevant platforms for early R&D. Such media could offers a scalable, modular solution, reducing reliance on animal models and unlocking advanced gut on chip applications for next generation therapeutics and nutrition studies. The business case: Reagent.

We are looking for innovative, contactless, wireless patient monitoring solutions specifically designed for care environments (e.g. nursing homes). The main focus of these solutions should be contactless for accurate and continuous measurement of heart rate and respiratory rate. The ultimate goal is to use data from these vital signs to improve the management of chronic diseases that are common in care home residents - especially heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Co-develop smart tools to connect eligible patients with trials through data-driven site selection and inclusive recruitment strategies.

Create tools that aid doctors in real time while opening new, evidence-based therapeutic pathways.

Develop AI-powered systems to support radiology workflows by generatings accurate, readable image reports for clinical validation.

The company's scientists faced the following need: to get rid of heavy metals, especially zinc (Zn²⁺), from the condensate entering the environment.
In some cases we observe values as low as 0.45 mg/L, while the achievable level would be 0.3 mg/L.
This is the most pressing issue that needs to be addressed at the moment.
Our industrial wastewater may contain Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺ (sometimes also Ni²⁺) and complexes with organic substances that periodically prevent us from safely meeting discharge limits. The existing chemical treatment and membrane stage is expensive in terms of reagents. We are looking for a selective, regenerable nanofilter solution (preferably graphene/oxide graphene or nanocomposite membrane with Fe₃O₄ and functional ligand groups) that can be integrated into the existing line as an upgrading step.

With the growing popularity of heat pumps and the energy efficiency requirements in the building sector, the problem of how to ensure stable and optimal operating conditions in different climatic conditions is becoming more and more pressing. Traditional outdoor installation of heat pumps poses a number of challenges - they are exposed to overheating in summer and excessive frost in winter, which reduces the COP (coefficient of performance), increases energy consumption and shortens service life.
Whether renovating existing buildings or building new ones, the market needs an innovative solution that is modular, easy to install and predictably energy efficient. The lack of such a solution hinders the ability of households and businesses to maximise the potential of heat pumps for energy savings and climate targets.

Sound and vibration limitations are key design requirements that are difficult to meet with standard CLT floor systems. This requires very thick CLT slabs, which are expensive and make CLT less compatible with reinforced concrete floor slabs. There are many existing hybrid CLT-reinforced concrete floor systems that are very efficient, but currently, especially for innovative solutions, there are a limited number of structural design systems that are validated, calibrated and can calculate vibration and sound properties with the required accuracy. The development of such a structural design system will allow to extend the use cases for innovative CLT-reinforced concrete floor systems.

Physical activity levels among children and young people in Latvia are declining (according to SPKC data) and unpublished results from the SPP Sports study show that large motor skills are also declining, which increases the long-term risk of injury. In order to increase participation and develop motor skills at an early age, it is necessary to look for interactive tools that can engage children and young people in physical activity. Looking at the supply on the market, we have found that it is insufficient, which also increases the price of the service.

We are a manufacturer of polyurethane products (various seat parts, car parts, medical equipment parts, etc.) with 20 years of experience. Our technological process produces polyurethane scrap, approximately 10% of the total polyurethane mass produced (approximately 10t/year). At the moment we are handing over this waste to a waste management company for incineration, which is not sustainable and economically viable. We would like to develop a sustainable technology for the reuse of polyurethane residues that is economically viable and does not change the quality of the final products.

Surveillance, industrial and traffic cameras are often hampered by build-up on the lenses or protective glass of the housing:

These factors reduce light transmission, degrade image quality and make computer vision models more difficult to operate (e.g. in traffic monitoring, production line control processes, security surveillance).

Limitations of existing solutions:

• Moving parts (blades, wipers) cause mechanical wear, maintenance required.

• Air or water blowers require additional infrastructure (compressed air, liquid, electricity), noise and costs.

• Hydrophobic coatings are available, but often with low durability - they wear out due to UV and mechanical stress and require periodic renewal.

• Self-cleaning optics (e.g. ExcelSense ToughEye) already exist, but they involve the purchase of new specialised optics or housings rather than a solution that can be integrated into an existing camera fleet.

Technical requirements for the solutionHigh optical transmittance (≥ 90 % in the visible spectrum, preferably also IR if cameras are operated at night). Surface that repels water, mud, dust, oil particles and inhibits their adhesion. Long-term durability in the external environment (UV radiation, mechanical wear, temperature fluctuations of -30 °C to +50 °C). The solution shall not contain moving parts or require additional energy to blow air/liquid. Self-cleaning or superhydrophobic/superoleophobic surface properties with high contact angle and low adhesion are desirable. Preferably mass application (simply applied to existing cameras at various sites, not just at factory level).

Co-develop safe, scalable and eco-efficient solutions to transform industrial ashes into high-performance components for roads and construction.

Co-develop robust, energy-saving solutions to augment the energy efficiency of technological processes, minimizing environmental impact and maximizing productivity.

Design the next generation of recyclable PCB materials to power long-lasting, eco-friendly electronics.

Reinvent additive manufacturing with UV-cured resins built for thermal, mechanical, and electrical excellence.