Acute intramuscular (IM) injections are used in critical situations but are almost always administered by healthcare professionals. Most people are not trained or comfortable giving an IM injection themselves, which limits access to timely care.

This matters now for several reasons. Emergency department visits are costly, often ranging from $1,000 to $2,600 per visit, and many could potentially be avoided with earlier intervention. In addition, approximately 120 million people in the United States live in healthcare deserts, with limited access to nearby providers. Expanding the ability to administer IM injections outside of clinical settings can improve access, reduce costs, and support better outcomes.

D-CUFF is a wearable device placed on the forearm that delivers an intramuscular injection when activated. It is designed to be easy to use, with a hidden needle and minimal discomfort, enabling use by patients or caregivers in non-clinical settings.

The device represents a new approach to IM delivery. Traditional IM injections require access to specific muscle groups that often involve undressing, while D-CUFF targets a forearm muscle that is more accessible. Initial applications include conditions such as migraine, pain, seizures, and acute anxiety, where rapid onset of treatment is critical. The platform also has broader potential across additional therapies and vaccines.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are advancing prototype development and validating the device’s usability and application across these use cases.

What excites us most is moving from concept toward real-world impact. Advancing the D-CUFF prototype brings us closer to delivering a practical solution that expands access to care and supports both patients and providers.

By enabling safe, layperson-administered IM injections, we see the potential to shift appropriate care into home settings, reduce avoidable emergency visits, and lower overall healthcare costs. This approach aligns with broader trends in healthcare, including decentralization and increased demand for home-based treatment.

Ultimately, we are focused on building solutions that make care more accessible, efficient, and responsive to patient needs. 

Despite the widespread use of wearable fitness trackers, most people never translate that data into lasting behavior change. The issue is not the technology itself, but the lack of meaningful motivation and community to sustain engagement. As a result, preventable chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and dementia continue to rise.

My Health Sentry addresses this gap by combining gamified social competition, a witty AI companion, and personalized insights that connect daily activity to long-term health outcomes in a way that is engaging and sustainable. The timing is important. Wearable adoption has reached a tipping point, and wellness professionals, employers, and insurers are increasingly looking for tools that can improve population health at scale.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are advancing two key initiatives. First, we are completing the Android version of Wearable Wars, expanding beyond iOS to reach a broader user base. Second, we are developing integrated scheduling and payment features, driven by demand from an existing physical therapy client.

This addition is strategic. It shifts My Health Sentry from a motivational add-on to a more central operational tool for providers, improving retention and strengthening its value. Together, these efforts help validate product-market fit in physical therapy and preventative wellness while supporting future scale.

What excites me most is the opportunity to reach people who have not been well served by traditional fitness apps. Not just those who are already motivated, but the much larger group that wants to be healthier but has not found something that works for them.

By partnering with fitness and health coaches, we gain a trusted pathway to that audience. The coach becomes a force multiplier, and the platform becomes the layer that keeps people engaged and accountable over time. That combination is what makes this next step so meaningful. 

Every year, millions of patients seek care for dizziness, one of the most common reasons older adults visit the emergency room or a physical therapist. The challenge is that dizziness can signal anything from a minor inner ear condition to a life-threatening stroke. Dizzy911 uses smartphone-based simulation to help providers assess patients at the bedside.

Many clinicians are not trained to confidently recognize subtle eye movements called nystagmus, which are critical for distinguishing minor from serious conditions. When nystagmus is missed or misinterpreted, patients may receive unnecessary imaging and hospital admissions or, in some cases, be discharged while experiencing a stroke.

With emergency departments under pressure, an aging population at higher risk for falls, and rising healthcare costs tied to misdiagnosis, better training is needed. Dizzy911 was created to make dizziness and vertigo assessments more accurate, accessible, and teachable so patients receive the right care at the right time.

Through ACCEL-KS, Dizzy911 is building and validating a smartphone-based simulation platform that teaches clinicians how to recognize and interpret nystagmus. The program supports continued prototyping and refinement, with a focus on educational effectiveness and scalability. Development is happening alongside clinicians, incorporating real-time feedback and testing in care environments to ensure the tool supports clinical decision-making at the bedside.

What excites me most is the opportunity to move from a smartphone prototype to measurable impact.

For years, I have seen the challenges involved in assessing and treating patients with vertigo and dizziness in practice. Evaluating these symptoms can be complex and intimidating, not only for therapists but also for urgent care and emergency medicine clinicians who must quickly determine whether a condition is benign or life-threatening. Dizzy911 creates an opportunity to translate that clinical experience into a scalable solution that strengthens evaluation across care settings and improves outcomes beyond the patients I personally treat.

ACCEL-KS funding represents a meaningful step forward. It allows us to refine, validate, and expand a tool designed to improve bedside assessment and support better clinical decisions in Kansas and beyond. 

Rural small businesses are often difficult to find online. Many have outdated or missing information, and when customers cannot find accurate details, they move on.

This matters more than ever as consumer behavior has shifted. Most people search for local businesses online, and many will choose a competitor if information is incorrect. In rural areas, that competitor is often outside the community, meaning dollars leave and do not return.

Local businesses are central to rural communities. They create jobs and support schools, events, and local organizations. When visibility is limited, the impact extends beyond individual businesses to the entire community. Vina was built to close this gap in a way that is easy for business owners to maintain.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are building and validating the pilot version of the Vina platform in rural communities across Kansas and the Midwest.

We are testing whether the model is truly sustainable. Vina is designed so updates happen naturally, without relying on volunteers or additional effort from business owners. We are evaluating how quickly communities can launch, how businesses engage, and whether information remains accurate over time.

The goal is to create a repeatable model that can be expanded to rural communities across the country.

What excites me most is the opportunity to create both economic and human impact. When local businesses are easier to find, more money stays in the community, strengthening the entire town.

There is also strong potential for scale. This is a widespread challenge for communities without digital tools designed for their needs. If we can demonstrate that this model works, it can be applied broadly. Starting in my own community and expanding outward makes this work especially meaningful. 

Event Connect KS addresses the lack of a centralized system connecting vendors, small entrepreneurs, and event organizers across Kansas. Today, many groups rely on scattered communication methods, while vendors spend significant time searching for legitimate opportunities and often encounter incomplete information or scams. This inefficiency limits participation, reduces income, and weakens community events. The challenge is especially significant in rural Kansas, where entrepreneurs often operate part-time and lack access to reliable networks and resources. This solution matters now as communities across the state work to strengthen local economies, increase tourism, and support small business growth.

Through ACCEL-KS, Event Connect is building and validating a proof-of-concept platform that connects event organizers with verified vendors while also providing access to essential business resources. The MVP includes vendor profiles, event posting tools, location-based search, licensing and insurance upload capabilities, and automated notifications for relevant opportunities. It also introduces a business resource marketplace connecting entrepreneurs with suppliers. Early testing across Kansas communities will validate usability, demand, and the platform’s ability to improve vendor recruitment and participation.

This next step creates an opportunity to remove barriers for small entrepreneurs across Kansas. Based on years of firsthand experience, finding legitimate events can be time-consuming and inefficient, especially for those operating in rural areas or balancing other commitments. Event Connect creates a trusted system that saves time, reduces risk, and increases access to opportunity. By giving entrepreneurs time back, it allows them to focus on growing their businesses while strengthening local communities.

We help chemical manufacturers run their plants more efficiently by using AI to optimize performance based on changing feed and weather conditions. As energy, water, and infrastructure demands continue to rise, even small efficiency improvements can have a significant impact on costs, reliability, and emissions. The industry needs tools that help operators make better decisions faster without sacrificing safety or product quality.

We are validating our AI optimization approach by building new performance benchmarks, expanding compute capacity to test models more quickly, and comparing methods across real operating scenarios. This includes applying our work to large water-chilling plants, improving how we model constraints such as utilities and weather, and strengthening our digital twin process to better match real plant behavior.

ACCEL-KS gives us the ability to test ideas, validate what works, and continue advancing our technology. We’re grateful for the opportunity and excited to demonstrate how practical AI optimization can improve efficiency, reliability, and safety in manufacturing environments. 

At Electravera, we are working to close the critical mineral loop by recycling lithium-ion batteries and extracting valuable materials that would otherwise be disposed of.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are developing designs for a battery disassembly line and validating our business model.

We are excited to work with business experts at KU Innovation Park who will help our company grow and succeed. 

Schools don’t know how to respond to student use of AI. Many are attempting solutions like banning AI altogether or returning to paper-and-pencil assignments. At the same time, students are expected to develop AI skills as part of career readiness. Authentiya helps schools introduce AI responsibly by providing the training and transparency needed for classroom adoption.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are building our proof-of-concept software. This includes training that helps students understand what AI is, when it is appropriate to use it, and how to identify misinformation and bias. Students can then use Authentiya on their assignments, with built-in reporting for teachers that shows when AI is used and the context behind that use.

We are incredibly thankful for ACCEL-KS and the Patterson Family Foundation for enabling us to build our proof of concept. We’re excited to move toward getting this software into the hands of real teachers and classrooms. 

Since 2000, more than 3,200 American newspapers have closed, and the pace is accelerating. One-third of all local papers are gone, with rural communities hit the hardest. When a local newspaper disappears, the effects ripple outward. Public meetings go uncovered, local achievements are no longer shared, and communities fragment into disconnected information sources. Local businesses also lose a key advertising channel, with few viable replacements. At the same time, declining trust in national media has left many communities without reliable sources they believe. Citizen Journal addresses this by using AI to make hyperlocal journalism economically sustainable again, at a time when the need is especially urgent.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are validating our model for rapid, scalable expansion. Our proprietary technology, Cronkite AI, ingests public records such as city council meetings, school board sessions, police reports, and press releases, and converts them into professional AP-style journalism. We have already launched in 34 communities across five states, with more than 11,000 app downloads and 80,000 monthly views. In our home market of McPherson, Kansas, we generate more than 20,000 views per month and have effectively replaced the local newspaper. With ACCEL-KS, we are refining our go-to-market strategy, strengthening our advertising model, and building a repeatable playbook to expand into additional underserved communities.

What excites us most is the opportunity to use technology to restore something that has been lost. We have already seen that the model works. Communities are engaging with the content, local businesses are advertising, and civic participation is increasing. ACCEL-KS provides the mentorship, network, and structure to scale beyond our initial markets. Each new community represents an opportunity to bring local news back in a meaningful way, which is both motivating and impactful. 

We are providing youth with a platform to learn and develop social and communication skills in a more structured and supervised way.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are working with a development team to use AI to create a faster and more efficient process for building virtual reality scenarios. This allows us to better address the learning needs of a wider range of youth.

AI is changing how software is developed. It enables more customized digital experiences that can better engage users and connect more effectively to real-world outcomes. 

The rapid growth of compounded injectable medications has highlighted the challenges and risks associated with manual self-administration using traditional syringes and multi-dose vials. Love Lifesciences’ injection devices are designed to bring the same level of safety, convenience, and controlled delivery that has historically only been available with branded pharmaceutical products.

ACCEL-KS funding is supporting the development of two syringe filling and finishing systems for use with the UniPen device: a semi-automated system for the 503A compounding market and a fully automated robotic system for the CDMO clinical trials market. These systems will allow us to demonstrate the technology to potential customers and validate performance through pilot implementations.

The ability to demonstrate and deploy fully functional, commercial-grade fill-finish systems represents a major milestone in our commercialization pathway. These systems will enable us to offer compounding pharmacies a comprehensive, turnkey injection device platform and bring improved safety and convenience to millions of patients. 

Millions of men in the United States live with low testosterone, but fewer than one million receive treatment. Current options are often limited to injections or topical therapies that can be inconvenient or uncomfortable, leading many patients to discontinue use.

A safe, effective once-daily pill would improve adherence and quality of life for patients who are currently underserved.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are laying the groundwork for a next-generation oral testosterone therapy. This includes confirming effectiveness in preclinical models, conducting safety testing, and advancing formulation development.

These steps are essential for future regulatory engagement and progression toward initial human dosing.

What excites us most is the opportunity to close a persistent treatment gap. Oral testosterone represents a small fraction of current prescriptions, even though most patients prefer a pill-based option.

That gap highlights a meaningful opportunity to improve care. ACCEL-KS provides the support needed to move from a promising concept toward a therapy that could change how low testosterone is treated. 

Through our work building hydroponic farms for Community Green Farms, we became aware of the challenges many Kansans face when it comes to accessing fresh, nutritious food. While Kansas is often considered the breadbasket of the nation, many communities, especially in rural areas, have limited access to healthy produce. Family-owned grocery stores are struggling to stay open due to rising costs, including aging cold storage units, some more than 50 years old. At the same time, rural counties experience higher poverty rates, and in some areas, a significant portion of residents live below the federal poverty level. Food pantries are also often understaffed and undersized. Reliable cold storage is essential to preserving perishable food, yet many communities lack the resources to maintain or replace this infrastructure.

Our goal is to provide an affordable cold storage solution. Today, much of the existing cold storage infrastructure is more than 25 years old, and replacing it with new walk-in coolers can cost up to $300 per square foot. Space constraints within existing buildings also present challenges. Our approach uses repurposed shipping containers that can be placed adjacent to existing facilities, reducing both cost and footprint. We believe these units can be built for roughly one-third the cost of traditional systems. Through ACCEL-KS, we are working to validate demand by engaging with communities, retailers, and nonprofit food distribution centers, while also consulting technical experts to refine our cost-to-build and deployment model.

620 Fabrication’s mission is to create affordable, innovative solutions for communities and consumers in need. We have experience transforming shipping containers into hydroponic farms, tiny homes, retail pop-ups, construction offices, laundry and restroom facilities, and self-storage units. This next step allows us to apply that expertise to cold storage, addressing a critical infrastructure need. Being able to assess market demand and access technical support through ACCEL-KS will help us expand our capabilities and scale this solution across Kansas and beyond. 

Athletes operate in high-pressure environments, but mental performance support does not scale effectively. Most programs rely on limited staff capacity or generic content that does not drive meaningful behavior change. Myndset delivers short, daily mental training exercises that fit into real team schedules. As the intensity and mental demands of sports continue to increase, programs need scalable tools to support athletes before challenges impact development or performance.

We are conducting a product validation and performance measurement study to understand how Myndset drives outcomes for athletes. The goal is to produce stakeholder-ready evidence, including an Evidence Brief and supporting materials that clearly show what changed, for whom, and how results connect to consistent usage.

This work provides athletic departments and future partners with confidence that Myndset is not only engaging but delivering measurable impact.

This is the stage where Myndset moves from “people like it” to “we can prove it works.” Building a credible evidence foundation is key to earning trust from athletic departments and accelerating adoption.

Partnering with KU also creates a long-term validation opportunity that can support multi-site studies, deeper outcome tracking, and a strong position in digital mental performance training. 

The refinery alkylation and detergent industries still rely on harsh mineral acids such as hydrofluoric and sulfuric acid, which present significant safety, corrosion, and emissions challenges. There is a clear need for alternative catalysts that can deliver the same chemistry with improved safety and efficiency. Sulverra is developing a new class of superacid catalysts to meet that need.

With ACCEL-KS support, we are further developing, testing, and scaling our superacid catalysts. This includes generating performance data, benchmarking against existing solutions, documenting safety improvements, and preparing materials for future SBIR proposals.

We are excited to move from lab-scale results to pilot-scale validation. The goal is to deploy improved catalysts in industrial settings where they can make operations safer, cleaner, and more efficient. 

Many types of cancer are detected only at later stages, when treatment is more difficult and outcomes are less favorable. Painless, urine-based liquid biopsies offer the potential for earlier diagnosis, which can improve treatment effectiveness, reduce patient burden, and lower overall healthcare costs.

Through ACCEL-KS, we are developing a urine-based liquid biopsy as a laboratory-developed test (LDT) for ovarian cancer.

Building the first ovarian cancer LDT serves as a foundational proof-of-concept. It creates a pathway for developing a broader suite of diagnostic tests for other cancers and diseases.