June 23, 2025
Initiative jointly funds two spring 2025 Innovation Gap Fund projects with CoMotion
The Population Health Initiative announced with CoMotion the joint funding of two Innovation Gap Funds of $75,000 each to teams of University of Washington researchers. This $150,000 in collective funding will support projects that simultaneously support the UW’s vision for improving population health while also fulfilling the CoMotion Innovation Fund’s goal of enabling research that will achieve sustainable commercial or social impact.
The first funded project is Immunoassay at Home (IA@Home). Chronic inflammation is a silent, early driver of major diseases like cardiovascular, autoimmune, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders, but lifestyle changes and early intervention can help prevent serious outcomes. The IA@Home platform seeks to support intervention by combining low-cost, high-sensitivity paper microfluidic tests with AI-powered guidance, creating an at-home alert system for early detection and proactive health management.
The second funded project is Lung Ultrasound Sensor. This team is seeking to develop a low-cost, wearable, automated lung ultrasound sensor (LUSS) that enables continuous, radiation-free monitoring of pulmonary conditions, reducing the need for manual exams and improving diagnostic accuracy. LUSS has the potential to be especially impactful for heart failure but also supports care for pneumonia, dialysis patients and other conditions requiring ongoing lung fluid assessment across hospital and non-hospital settings.