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February 11th 2025
University of Utah’s LUKE Arm, a groundbreaking robotic prosthetic that restores touch and movement...
January 30th 2025
The Technology Licensing Office is excited to host the third annual University of Utah Innovation Aw...
November 5th 2024
Jess Tate’s favorite part of his job as a research associate at the University of Utah Scientific Co...
Shortly before kickoff at Sunday’s Big Game, fans got a peak at a project that University of Utah researchers have been working on for the better part of two decades: the LUKE Arm.
In the run-up to the national anthem, FOX Sports presented a video “Essay on America,” narrated by actor Brad Pitt, that highlighted how the nation “huddles up,” coming together to accomplish great things. One of those huddles featured researchers at the U fitting a patient with the advanced prosthetic arm.
The LUKE Arm’s fingertips send signals to the user’s brain through the system’s direct nerve interface, providing a sense of touch.
Named after the prosthesis Luke Skywalker acquires at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, the LUKE Arm may look like movie magic but the benefits it promises are very real. Thanks to a direct nerve interface, the LUKE Arm can translate the user’s thoughts into motion. Even better, this system can send signals back to the brain, giving the user a new sense of life-like touch.
And while this long-running research project still has hurdles ahead of it, it has also recently taken important steps toward becoming a viable commercial product.
A new contract with startup Biologic Input Output Systems (BIOS) will support the University of Utah’s ongoing Investigational Device Exception Early Feasibility Study, allowing for the recruitment of the clinical trial’s next participant.
The overwhelmingly positive results from eight previous participants earned the BIOS direct nerve interface a “Breakthrough Device Designation” from the FDA in March 2024, as well as admission into its Total Product Lifecycle Advisory Program. The FDA uses these programs to fast-track promising experimental medical devices toward everyday use.
Previous trials mostly saw participants use the LUKE Arm in controlled laboratory settings, independently testing different capabilities of the arm and painstakingly integrating them. Now, the researchers are ready to test how well the arm holds up in more realistic scenarios.
“This patient will be the first to take the LUKE Arm home and use it independently for their daily activities,” says Utah NeuroRobotics Lab Director Jacob George.
George, an assistant professor in the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, also serves as Chief Scientist for BIOS. In 2022, BIOS executed a licensing agreement with the University of Utah for the technology behind the neuroprosthesis, and continues to evolve the technology towards commercialization.
This next phase of the project marks an exciting step towards the commercialization and real-world implementation of an advanced neuroprosthesis. This project stems from the pioneering work of emeritus faculty member Richard Normann, who invented the Utah Array used in the arm’s direct nerve interface, as well as faculty member Florian Solzbacher, who commercialized the technology through Blackrock Neurotech. Blackrock Neurotech is another University of Utah-associated startup company that recently received a $200 million investment to expand their brain-computer interface technology.
For more information about participating in the NeuroRobotics’ next clinical trial, click here.
The Technology Licensing Office is excited to host the third annual University of Utah Innovation Awards this fall. Last year's awards highlighted incredible U researchers working to translate their research into technologies that benefit the public, and this year’s event will continue to build on last year’s success.
Nominations are now open for the following Innovation Awards:
Nominations are due Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Jess Tate’s favorite part of his job as a research associate at the University of Utah Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute (SCI) is the variety of projects he is involved in.
“It’s really stimulating, and I have a lot of exposure to the cutting-edge science around me,” Tate said. “I get to be involved in all these fields of research and find solutions to problems.”
Because Tate is involved in so many projects, he made an excellent choice for one of the first three Innovation Ambassadors at the University of Utah. The Innovation Ambassadors connect their colleagues to the resources available at the Technology Licensing Office.
For Tate, serving as an Innovation Ambassador offers him the chance to encourage other SCI researchers to pursue potential commercialization opportunities related to their research. “The commercialization of ideas is really how our research or the things that we develop can have an impact,” he said.
Learn more about the Innovation Ambassadors
Just to get an idea of the scope of projects Tate and SCI work on, here are a few things he has had his hands on at the U:
One of Tate’s main goals across all these projects is to push discovery and human knowledge forward. “All the software we write is centered on how we can make it easier for researchers or clinicians to discover,” he said. “It's using techniques that haven't been used in this field before to discover new principles and new ideas governing the proteins that make life work. Then, of course, the overall hope is that these ideas would result in some benefit to society.”
Commercializing some of these software projects is a bit more complicated than getting a tangible product licensed. Software is not always patentable, so Tate and the Technology Licensing Office are exploring new ideas to ensure these projects can be just as impactful.
“We are still pretty early in the process, but we hope to be able to come up with some strategies that would really inspire our researchers and students to come to the university and think of it as a place where they can make their ideas impactful,” Tate said.
Tate also hopes his position as an Innovation Ambassador will help grow a network of industry connections interested in the work done at SCI.
“I hope to help them see the value of our research and our work in their industry, and also in return use their expertise and their strengths to help our research progress,” Tate said. “There’s a lot that we can learn from each other across these domains and spaces that we work in.”
TLO Director of Commercialization Jonathan Tyler spearheaded the development of the Innovation Ambassador program with the hope that it would benefit researchers in more ways than one. “This initiative is designed to embed innovation resources within departments, offering trusted advisors who can provide direct support and guidance,” Tyler said. “Additionally, the program creates a valuable feedback loop with our office, helping us refine and enhance our offerings.”
Wherever you are on your innovation journey, the Technology Licensing Office is your go-to source to connect you with the U’s innovation ecosystem.
Call 801.581.7792 or send us a message
Technology Licensing Office
75 South 2000 East - 2nd Floor, SLC, Utah 84112
801-581-7792
Thank you for your interest in submitting a disclosure. Our disclosure portal is currently accessible only to university faculty members. If you are not a faculty member, please reach out to us directly. If your invention involves collaboration with a University of Utah employee, we encourage them to submit the disclosure on behalf of your team.
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