ASU grads create medical device to cure jaundice

Arizona State University engineering graduates and students are involved in a start-up venture based on new technology the company’s founders developed to help cure jaundice in newborn children.

Jaundice affects six out of 10 newborn babies, and more than 12,000 worldwide die each day if not treated.

The founders of the company, NeoLight, are Chase Garrett, Deepak Krishnaraju, Sivakumar Palaniswamy and Vivek Kopparthi.

Garrett earned a degree in civil engineering; Krishnaraju earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering; Palaniswamy is studying for a master’s degree in biomedical engineering; and Kopparthi earned a business degree at ASU.

They are being assisted by several interns – ASU students in various branches of engineering, industrial design and biotechnology.

The team has developed different prototypes of their medical device that are portable, cost effective, solar powered and more energy efficient. One version is designed specifically to enable use of the device in underdeveloped countries, where 99 percent of deaths from jaundice occur and power supplies are scarce.

NeoLight’s founders got support for their early-stage development work through ASU’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative and the ASU SkySong innovation center. They are now looking for investors to help them optimize the design for ergonomics and manufacturing.