Overview

A venture studio engaged Triple Ring to identify commercially viable opportunities within women’s health. Former Stanford Biodesign Innovation fellows at Triple Ring applied the Biodesign process and evaluated unmet clinical needs transforming one of the highest-potential opportunities into an early-stage diagnostic concept.

The program combined market discovery, clinical insight, and rapid technical innovation to create an at-home, semi-quantitative biomarker measurement platform designed for low-cost, CLIA-waived testing.

Challenge

The project began with a broad question: where are the greatest unmet opportunities in women’s health? Triple Ring interviewed healthcare providers, key opinion leaders, and other stakeholders while analyzing publicly available data to identify unmet clinical needs with meaningful market potential.

One promising opportunity emerged: a low-cost system capable of performing semi-quantitative biomarker measurements at home. Delivering clinically meaningful performance within the constraints of an affordable, CLIA-waived diagnostic platform presented a significant technical challenge.

Overview

Scaled Cell Solutions, a venture-backed startup, engaged Triple Ring to rethink cell therapy manufacturing with the aims of reducing cost, shortening time to dose, and expanding patient access. By Integrating a ground-breaking workflow, biophysical analysis, and novel gene delivery technology, our work built a foundation for disrupting cell therapy production.

Challenge

Current cell therapy manufacturing processes rely on technologies that introduce risk at every step as cells are transferred between functional modules within complex, high-cost workflows. These fragmented processes resist automation, increase variability, add contamination risk, and limit patient access to potentially life-saving therapies.

Triple Ring invented a closed-loop approach that reduces complexity, lowers cost, and shortens time to dose while maintaining safety, efficacy, and product quality.

Overview

The CytoFLEX platform from Beckman Coulter Life Sciences is a market-leading flow cytometry platform designed to provide high sensitivity, strong resolution, and flexible configuration options across a wide range of applications. Built to support advanced sample analysis and regulatory workflows, the platform integrates CytExpert acquisition and analysis software and supports features such as multi-color detection and high-throughput processing.

To expand the platform’s analytical capabilities and strengthen its competitive position against third-party software solutions, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences partnered with Triple Ring to develop advanced data analysis algorithms supporting new high-value customer use cases.

Challenge

A key driver of the CytoFLEX platform’s longstanding market success is its sophisticated data analysis software suite, which allows users to predict unknown properties of their test samples. At project initiation, Triple Ring was tasked with designing algorithms to expand the number of high-value customer use cases from two to ten.

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences sought to capture market value held by third-party solutions while maintaining performance, flexibility, and speed of development across multiple technical disciplines.

Solution

Triple Ring applied cross-disciplinary expertise in optics, simulation, and system design to improve performance and manufacturability.

Key technical efforts included:

• Optimizing optical subsystem design to improve signal sensitivity
• Developing analytical models to predict system performance across configurations
• Supporting integration of acquisition and analysis software workflows
• Refining system architecture to improve manufacturability and yield

Overview

AiM Medical Robotics engaged Triple Ring to develop a portable robotic system capable of performing neurosurgical procedures simultaneously with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The resulting prototype established the technical foundation for an MRI-compatible robotic platform designed to support image-guided neurosurgery.

Challenge

MRI environments rely on strong magnetic fields that prohibit the use of ferromagnetic materials commonly found in traditional robotic systems. Additionally, the limited physical space inside MRI systems imposed strict form factor constraints.

These requirements demanded innovative design strategies to enable reliable robotic motion and positioning inside the MRI environment.

Solution

Triple Ring applied first-principles engineering and multidisciplinary design expertise to create an MRI-compatible robotic system.

Key elements of the solution included:

• Design of multi-axis robotic systems optimized for MRI environments
• Application of MRI physics principles to guide system architecture
• Development of MRI-compatible components and assemblies
• Rapid prototyping and testing to validate system performance
• Engineering solutions addressing constrained spatial and material limitations

Overview

Hound Labs engaged Triple Ring to invent a portable breath analyzer capable of detecting recent marijuana use. The system was developed to support point-of-use testing in law enforcement and workplace environments requiring reliable impairment detection.

Starting from an early concept sketch, Triple Ring collaborated with Hound Labs to develop a high-sensitivity breathalyzer platform combining chemical detection and portable instrumentation technologies.

Challenge

The system needed to detect Δ-9 THC in exhaled breath with clinical-grade sensitivity while maintaining portability and reliability in field conditions.

In addition to engineering challenges, the project required validation of THC pharmacodynamics in breath, including generation of peer-reviewed scientific evidence supporting detection feasibility.

Overview

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) selected Triple Ring to design, build, and test a low-cost quantitative biomarker detection platform intended for at-home and low-resource healthcare settings. The system was developed to support multiplexed biomarker analysis using compact, user-friendly instrumentation.

The resulting platform integrates biological sensing, embedded electronics, and optical detection technologies into a portable diagnostic system designed to support lab-at-home, point-of-care, and direct-to-consumer workflows.

Challenge

BARDA identified the need for a low-cost diagnostic platform capable of delivering quantitative biomarker measurements outside traditional laboratory environments. The system needed to support multiplexed testing while remaining accessible for use in resource-limited settings and CLIA-waived environments.

Achieving this capability required integration of complex biological, optical, and electronic subsystems into a compact and manufacturable design. The platform also needed to extend the measurable range of lateral flow immunoassays while maintaining usability and cost targets suitable for broad deployment.

Overview

The client selected Triple Ring to design a reusable applicator supporting the delivery of a novel micro-needle patch for transdermal drug administration. The system was intended for patient-administered use in home settings and required consistent mechanical performance to ensure reliable drug delivery.

The resulting combination product integrated a reusable applicator with a micro-needle patch system designed to enable uniform pressure application, supporting consistent adhesion and controlled dosing across diverse patient populations.

Challenge

The client developed a microneedle-based transdermal patch that required significantly greater uniformity of application pressure compared to traditional adhesive patches. Achieving reliable drug delivery required development of a reusable applicator capable of delivering consistent mechanical force during use.

The applicator needed to function effectively across a wide range of skin types, including variations in thickness, age, moisture content, and anatomical placement. In addition to performance requirements, the design needed to meet durability expectations for repeated home use while maintaining low production cost.

Overview

A Fortune 500 diagnostics manufacturer worked with Triple Ring to modernize a legacy in vitro diagnostic (IVD) platform facing component obsolescence and software limitations. The project focused on refreshing the system architecture while maintaining regulatory equivalency with an existing FDA-cleared product.

The resulting platform replaced obsolete hardware, migrated legacy software, and introduced updated industrial design elements while preserving compatibility with established manufacturing and regulatory pathways.

Challenge

The client faced the obsolescence of critical hardware components, including single-board computers and microcontrollers, within an existing diagnostic platform. Compounding the challenge, original firmware source code was unavailable, and institutional knowledge associated with the system had diminished over time.

In addition to restoring functionality, the refreshed system needed to maintain regulatory equivalence to the original device in order to qualify for a Special 510(k) submission. This requirement demanded careful reverse engineering, system validation, and modernization without introducing unintended performance deviations.