ULiSSES™ Wins Grand Prize in Worldwide ‘Create The Future’ Design Competition

October 1, 2019 |

3 min read

Vascular Perfusion Solutions, Inc. (VPS), the creator of ULiSSES™, a first-of-its-kind medical device, has been awarded the Grand Prize in the worldwide 2019 “Create the Future” Design Contest, produced by Tech Briefs Media Group, an SAE International Company.

Oct. 1, 2019 17:14 UTC

Medical Device Provides New Hope To Organ Transplant Patients

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vascular Perfusion Solutions, Inc. (VPS), the creator of ULiSSES™, a first-of-its-kind medical device, has been awarded the Grand Prize in the worldwide 2019 “Create the Future” Design Contest, produced by Tech Briefs Media Group, an SAE International Company. The top prize comes with a $20,000 award. Engineers and organizations from 60 countries submitted more than 700 product designs. The Create the Future Design Contest was established in 2002 to recognize and reward engineering innovations that benefit humanity, the environment, and the economy.

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. ULiSSES™ is a small, self-contained device for organ and limb transport that uses oxygen to preserve and resuscitate vascularized tissue — organs and limbs — for more than 24-hours, compared to only 4 to 6 hours with current methods. (Photo: Business Wire)

ULiSSES™ Wins Grand Prize in Worldwide ‘Create The Future’ Design Competition. ULiSSES™ is a small, self-contained device for organ and limb transport that uses oxygen to preserve and resuscitate vascularized tissue — organs and limbs — for more than 24-hours, compared to only 4 to 6 hours with current methods. (Photo: Business Wire)

VPS’ ULiSSES™ creation is a small, self-contained device for organ and limb transport that uses oxygen to preserve and resuscitate vascularized tissue — organs and limbs — for more than 24-hours, compared to only 4 to 6 hours with current methods. The ULiSSES™ device can also operate as a bioreactor, for example, to grow new skin for burn victims.

“The VPS team is deeply honored to receive the grand prize in a contest that celebrates technologies benefiting humanity,” said Leonid Bunegin, Chief Scientific Officer at VPS. “Our ULiSSES™ device is designed to be portable, affordable, and easy to use, which makes it more accessible to more hospitals, doctors, and most importantly, transplant patients.”

ULiSSES™ was designed by the San Antonio-based VPS team to be easily transported in a commercial airliner. It can be stored in an overhead compartment, or under the seat to allow the transport of organs or limbs anywhere in the world. VPS is working to further develop ULiSSES™, which is licensed by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, to save limbs that are lost in accidents, or on the battlefield.

VPS has a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement in place with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the U.S. Army’s Institute of Surgical Research (ISR), also in San Antonio. In addition, VPS has a joint operating agreement with the U.S. Army, with animal testing to be conducted by the ISR.

VPS is also working with Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the U.S. Department of Defense. In support of this additional work, VPS, along with other partners, has been the recipient of a Joint Warfighter Medical Research grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. VPS is currently working to gain access to the FDA’s Breakthrough Device Program to begin a streamlined review process, to get ULiSSES™ into early clinical use.

For more information on the award, visit www.createthefuturecontest.com. Additional information on VPS and ULiSSES™ can be found at www.vascularperfusion.solutions.

About Vascular Perfusion Solutions (VPS)

Vascular Perfusion Solutions, Inc. is a development and early-stage company, formed for the purpose of commercializing new, unique, and innovative oxygenated perfusion preservation and resuscitation solutions for the body’s limbs, organs, and other vascularized tissue. Visit www.vascularperfusion.solutions to learn more.