Ingenuity Lab Zurich

What Ingenuity Lab Zurich Does

The fundamental activity of Ingenuity Lab is pioneering research with a clear translational pathway. The lab's philosophy centers on creating a holistic understanding of the interplay between engineered materials and living systems. By combining advanced materials engineering, cutting-edge analytics, and sophisticated computer simulations, the team creates data-driven designs for medical materials and devices. This approach aims to create a direct route to unparalleled diagnostic and therapeutic solutions.

The lab's work is organized around three primary pillars:

• Research: This is the lab's core function. The team engages in fundamental and applied research to push scientific boundaries. Their work is characterized by its interdisciplinary nature, bringing together engineers, materials scientists, clinicians, and biologists to co-create solutions.
• Teaching: Committed to fostering the next generation of innovators, Ingenuity Lab is heavily involved in education. It offers highly popular courses, such as the Medical Technology Innovation Courses at ETH Zurich, and provides hands-on research opportunities for master's and doctoral students through thesis projects.
• Technology Transfer & Outreach: The lab is dedicated to ensuring its scientific discoveries have a real-world impact. This involves actively translating new technologies from the laboratory to clinical practice, often through partnerships and the creation of spin-off ventures. Furthermore, the lab engages in a stimulating dialogue with the broader society through outreach activities, including unique collaborations that merge science and art with the ETH AI Center.

Products and Services

As an academic entity, Ingenuity Lab's "products" and "services" are not commercial goods sold on the open market. Instead, they consist of intellectual property, technological innovations, research collaborations, and educational programs.

Research and Technological Innovations

The tangible outputs of the lab are its groundbreaking research projects and the technologies they produce. These are often in prototype or pre-clinical stages, designed to be licensed or developed further through spin-off companies. Key project areas include:

• Advanced Surgical Tools:
  • Robotic iSoldering: A novel, laser-based technique for the seamless fusion of tissues, aiming to replace traditional sutures with a less invasive and more effective method.
  • DuraFix: The development of new, high-performance sealant materials designed to effectively seal the dura mater (the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord) after surgery.
• Novel Medical Materials and Sensors:
  • SonoGuard: The creation of echogenic (ultrasound-visible) sensors, designed to improve the visibility and safety of medical implants during ultrasound imaging.
  • InkBotX: A project focused on the robotic printing of functional materials, enabling the precise, on-demand fabrication of implants and biomedical devices.
• Women's Health Technology:
  • MenstruAI: A project leveraging artificial intelligence and novel sensor technology to democratize women's health, aiming to provide better diagnostic and monitoring tools.
  • EndoStop: Research into a mechanical, reversible contraception method that could also serve as a preventative measure for endometriosis.

Services and Collaborative Offerings

The "services" provided by Ingenuity Lab are geared towards the academic, clinical, and industrial communities.

• Research Collaboration: The lab actively partners with industry leaders, healthcare providers, and other academic institutions to tackle specific research challenges. These collaborations leverage the lab's unique expertise in materials science and medical device engineering.
• Education and Training: The lab offers specialized courses and workshops for students and professionals. It also provides an environment for hands-on learning through student projects and theses, training a new workforce skilled in medical technology innovation.
• Knowledge and Technology Transfer: For industry partners, the lab serves as a source of cutting-edge technology and intellectual property that can be licensed for commercial development. The lab also supports its own members in creating spin-off companies to bring their innovations to market, as demonstrated by the success of ventures like Veltist, which became a Wyss Zurich spin-off.