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The UWM Innovation Accelerator is a facility designed to foster collaborations between academia and Industry. It is home to one of the most advanced proto-typing centers in the Midwest. Our engineers and machinists work on a fee for service basis to help startups and large companies alike design and fabricate devices or parts that they need for their products.

Collaborative laboratory spaces like those used by the UWM Mobility Laboratory and the Bridge to Cures initiative bring together researchers from multiple institutions from across the Region in support of research and development including projects for private companies, academic institutions and government agencies.

The Accelerator is also home to the UWM Prototyping Center and approximately a dozen startup companies at any given time that need specialized equipment or laboratory space.

Startup Companies

CompanyContact
BioForwardMichael Harrison, MD, Ph.D.
Concordia UniversityDaniel Sem
CytGenBlake Hill
Imagen Energy, LLCAdel Nasiri
NanoAffix ScienceEd Corrigan
MantiaCungeng Yang
PROMISS DiagnosticsJalal Sulaiman, CEO and Founder
Retham TechnologiesCurtis Jones, Research & Development
RPRDxUli Broeckel
TCR BioDan McQuary
UWM Fabrication & Prototyping FacilityKyle Jansson
UWM Mobility LabBrooke Slavens, Ph.D.
UWM Visuomotor LabWendy Huddeltson
Building ManagementDavid Gilbert
Tony Stang

Equipment Array

The UWM Innovation Accelerator houses three UWM laboratories that are university-wide core facilities – Imaging, Sensors and Mobility.  The Office for Research is responsible for managing the equipment arrays in each of these core facilities which are open for use by all UWM researchers and community/industry partners on a fee for use basis.  Any researcher interested in accessing the equipment below, may contact the Vice Provost for Research at the email or phone number listed at the bottom of each page.

Imaging and Materials

Zeiss CT Scanner

Xradia 410 Versa bridges the gap between high-performing X-ray microscopes and less powerful computed tomography (CT) systems. Delivering non-destructive 3D imaging with industry best resolution, contrast, and in situ capabilities, Xradia 410 Versa enables you to achieve groundbreaking research for the widest range of sample sizes. Enhance imaging workflows with this powerful, cost-efficient “workhorse” solution, even in diverse lab environments.

Confocal Tweezer Microscope System

The quantity of light absorbed by a chemical or biological substance as measured in a spectrophotometer or similar device. Units of absorbance are equivalent to the logarithm of the reciprocal transmittance (the ratio of the transmitted light intensity to incident light intensity). Absorption bands typically cover a wide range (many tens or hundreds) of wavelengths and are commonly plotted as intensity, transmission, or optical density versus wavelength.

Nexus Optical Tables

Thorlabs extensive Nexus™ optical tables product line features all-steel construction, excellent thermal stability, and damping optimized for each table size. The 5 mm thick stainless steel top and bottom skins have a precision-machined matte finish, and the mounting holes have a 1/2″ (12.5 mm) border at the edge of the table. Tables are available with or without sealed mounting holes, 304L nonmagnetic steel, or with through ports for cable management.

Material Testing System

Materials testing is a well-established technique used to determine the physical and mechanical properties of raw materials and components from a human hair to steel, composite materials and ceramics.

Optotrak

Track and analyze kinetics and dynamic motion in real-time with this powerful research-grade motion capture system that features exceptional spatial and temporal accuracy.

Operating Table

A superior operating table is the foundation for better patient outcomes. Versatile, easy-to-use and built for today’s procedures, STERIS’s wide range of surgical tables, exam tables, and orthopedic tables provide a solution for every operating room and budget.

Bally Mortuary Cooler

A Bally Walk-In Cooler or Freezer’s durable, pre-engineered panels reduce construction costs and provide superior durability. The panels of a Bally Walk-In Cooler or Freezer are made of poured-in-place, non-ozone depleting urethane, which has double the insulating efficiency of fiberglass or polystyrene, and keeps energy costs to a minimum. The lightweight Bally panels are available in 4″, 5″, and 6″ thickness.

Mimics Innovation Software

The Mimics Innovation Suite puts the most advanced and certified toolkit at your fingertips. Solve the toughest challenges in Engineering on Anatomy. Researchers and engineers from around the world use Mimics technology to develop leading-edge medical device designs, patient-specific implants and surgical instrumentation treatments that improve and save lives.

Mobility and Rehabilitation

Vicon motion Capture System with Access Flooring

Motion capture (mocap) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. The technology originated in the life science market for gait analysis but is now used widely by VFX studios, sports therapists, neuroscientists, and for validation and control of computer vision and robotics. Coupled with access flooring, this allows for the most precise measures of force that an individual uses.

Bertec Legacy Balance System

Human balance relies on a complex control system and the Bertec balance plates are essential to capture minute shifts for accurate and objective measurements. Bertec’s 3-component balance plates measure vertical force and the Center of Pressure (CoP).

Innovation Sports Motion Monitor System

The MotionMonitor is a turn-key 3-D motion capture system designed to synchronously collect data from kinematic trackers, EMG, force plates, hand transducers, EEG, video, event markers and other analog devices, virtual reality, and haptic devices. Data generated from a rich collection of analytical tools are immediately available for playback with graphical displays of all data outputs and stunning 3-D computer-rendered animations of the subject. Real-time measurement of the human body’s movement, brain activity, eye movement, muscle recruitment, and external forces acting on the body is achieved using the broadest range of hardware available in the market.

Novel E med System

The platforms provide accurate, reliable information for the analysis of foot function and diagnosis of foot pathologies. Foot deformities and malfunction can be detected during analysis of the barefoot pressure data.

Three Rivers Holding-Smart wheel instrumented Hub

The SmartWheel provides data for what clinicians do everyday: Wheelchair evaluation, equipment justification, and skills training. SmartWheel use fits directly into evaluation, wheelchair management & training CPT Codes.

Delsys Trigno Wireless System Sensor Units

The Trigno™ Wireless EMG System is a high-performing device designed to make EMG signal detection reliable and easy. Each EMG sensor has a built-in triaxial accelerometer, a transmission range of 40 m and a rechargeable battery lasting up to 8 hours. The system is capable of streaming data to EMGworks® Acquisition and Analysis software, and of generating 16 EMG and 48 accelerometer analog channels for integration with motion capture and other 3rd party data acquisition systems. Full triggering features further expand the possibility for integration with additional measurement technologies.

BTE Primus RS Equipment

The BTE PrimusRS is the ultimate system for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and athletic training. PrimusRS is the pinnacle of BTE’s evidence-based philosophy – physically rehabilitating patients – functionally. It gives you the power of objectivity and realtime data capture. From initial evaluation and baseline measurement through your patients’ entire rehabilitation and training program.

Cortech Solutions BCI EEG System

Brain-computer interface (BCI) is generally conceived as the use of EEG signals to provide a communication channel between the brain and the computer or some other device.  Imagine controlling a computer cursor or turning on and off devices in the home by thinking rather than moving a mouse or pressing a button.  These are examples of fast BCI control, in which immediate results are needed.  Now, imagine a scenario in which a computer game console automatically selects the type of game or adjusts the level of difficulty based on the player’s brain-state, inferred from the EEG signal.  This might be thought of as slow BCI control, since the effect of the control is a change that evolves over a longer period of time and it may rely on analysis of a larger sample (longer epoch) of EEG.

Biosensor Lab

Prefabricated Cleanroom

A cleanroom or clean room is an environment, typically used in manufacturing, including of pharmaceutical products or scientific research, as well as aerospace semiconductor engineering applications with a low level of environmental pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes, aerosol particles, and chemical vapors. More accurately, a cleanroom has a controlled level of contamination that is specified by the number of particles per cubic meter at a specified particle size.

Semiconductor Analyzer

Accelerate research, reliability and failure analysis studies of semiconductor devices, materials and process development with the 4200A-SCS. The highest performance parameter analyzer, it delivers synchronizing current-voltage (I-V), capacitance-voltage (C-V) and ultra-fast pulsed I-V measurements.

MicroManipulator Probe Station

The Micromanipulator Company offers the semiconductor industry one of the most comprehensive range of probe stations on the market. The wide selection is designed to meet the needs of most wafer testing applications. Our quality probe stations come in Specialty, Semi-automatic, High-performance, General-purpose Manual, and Economy Manual models. In addition we have available all of the consumables, accessories and on-site support you require.

Electrospray Machine

The electrospray machine is used for an apparatus that employs electricity to disperse a liquid or for the fine aerosol resulting from this process. High voltage is applied to a liquid supplied through an emitter (usually a glass or metallic capillary). Ideally the liquid reaching the emitter tip forms a Taylor cone, which emits a liquid jet through its apex. Varicose waves on the surface of the jet lead to the formation of small and highly charged liquid droplets, which are radially dispersed due to Coulomb repulsion.

Spin-Coater

Usually deployed in R&D and pilot scale systems spin coating is a common technique used to apply uniform thin films to flat substrates. Usually an excess amount of a solution is dispensed onto the substrate, which is then rotated at high speeds in order to spread the fluid uniformly by centrifugal force. Rotation is continued while the fluid spins off the edges of the substrate, until the desired thickness of the film is achieved. The applied solvent is usually volatile and simultaneously evaporates. The achievable film thickness is a function of angular spinning speed, solid material content of the solution and the type of solvent.

Ultrasonicator

The Covaris® M220 Focused-ultrasonicator™ is designed for next generation sequencing applications that require high-quality DNA fragmentation for library preparation. The Covaris® M220 efficiently focuses the minimum amount of energy required directly into a sample, enabling precise control of the hydrodynamic shearing forces that fragment nucleic acids to the selected size. The process is isothermal, so fragmentation is unbiased, the sample is undamaged, and yields are high. The Covaris® focused-ultrasonic technology is considered a DNA shearing standard in many labs worldwide.

Lab Furnace

Designed with safety in mind, Thermo Scientific™ furnaces offer temperature ranges from 1100°C to 1700°C, temperature control options to meet your application needs, as well as features that help you perform the most critical, to everyday applications.

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We’re actively seeking research companies to partner with.

Want to learn more about partnership opportunities currently available? Let us know and we’ll follow up with you.

Visit the UWM Innovation Accelerator

1225 Discovery Parkway
Wauwatosa, WI 53226

Phone: (414) 906-4670