Inventions of two University of Iowa College of Engineering faculty members have been licensed for commercial use. They are the latest technology transfer examples in which research emerging from UI laboratories is spun-out to a private company for broader public benefit.  

Salam Rahmatalla, UI professor of civil and environmental engineering and faculty affiliate at the Iowa Technology Institute, has optioned technology he invented to ActibioMotion. The company provides engineering services and product solutions in medical transport technologies, vibration mitigation, and motion sensing. 

Tae-Hong Lim, UI professor of biomedical engineering, has optioned technology to CartilaGen. The company is developing a drug-delivering mechanism to prevent the onset of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis that frequently occurs in the hands, hips, and knees.  

Lim and Rahmatalla worked with the UI Research Foundation to facilitate the licensing process. The research enterprise at UI values protecting and enhancing the value of discoveries through patents and copyrights, licensing them to existing companies, and translating them into start-up ventures.