three college station startups are among the 16 semifinalists announced for the 2018 texas a&m new ventures competition (tnvc) at the may 17 competition judges will narrow the field of 16 semi-finalists from across texas down to six finalists the final judging round begins at 1 pm and is open to the public and the media the finals will take place in the all american club at kyle field this years startups include companies from across a wide spectrum of fields including healthcare it/software digital health transportation and clean energy technology at more than $350 000 in cash and in-kind services the prize pool for this years competition is the largest yet details on specific awards will be announced closer to the competition since 2014 the tnvc has awarded more than $700 000 in prizes to texas-based startups last years winner was intuitap medical a houston-based medical device company that is developing a technology that helps physicians more accurately and efficiently place spinal needles for epidurals and spinal taps 2018 semi-finalists: admetsys -- houston admetsys was formed to explore the next generation of diabetes treatment technology: patient-adaptive learning algorithms coupled with counterbalancing medication delivery the union of these with automated blood glucose measurement and state-of-the-art visualization has created a transformative product advanced scanners inc -- temple advanced scanners is a seed stage medical device company making a 3d optical scanner and computer vision system to augment a surgeons capabilities in the operating room this will improve precision reducing the amount of brain tissue removed reducing potentially catastrophic but avoidable side effects alleviant medical -- houston alleviant medical is developing a minimally invasive device to treat congestive heart failure that is intended to relieve symptoms improve quality of life and reduce hospital readmissions for more than 6 million patients suffering from this condition nationwide arovia inc -- houston arovia makes spud the spontaneous pop-up display the first and only desktop-sized display that collapses like an umbrella for portability atmospark -- beaumont atmospark technologies llc develops atmospheric water generation systems that provide constant freshwater to those with limited access or in remote locations around the world its first product blu element enables cruising sailboat owners with unreliable water makers to reduce downtime risk up to 80 percent saving up to $16 000 per year m&s biotics -- houston m&s biotics is developing an autonomous internet of things solution to detect track count and locate surgical items within the operating room in real-time this effectively automates the surgical counting process while providing downstream analytics regarding instrument utilization by leveraging machine learning polarpanel -- houston polarpanel is a solar energy startup focused on bringing clean reliable and low-maintenance refrigeration technology to the commercial cold chain polarpanel is specifically targeting rail by retrofitting refrigerated railcars with nasa-developed solar technology that removes the need for both battery and a large diesel generator responderx -- college station after the deaths of two bryan texas firefighters in 2013 responderx was founded by a firefighter with a technical background to use emerging technology improve the safety of first responders their patented system allows for real-time tracking and locating of firefighters inside of buildings something that is not currently possible saber corporation -- college station saber is developing an antimicrobial bandage to provide a cost-saving solution by helping hospital staff reduce healthcare associated infections the company is utilizing blue light technology to protect patients prevent life-threatening infections and provide cost savings to hospitals and the healthcare system stream biomedical inc -- college station stream biomedical is an early-stage company founded to address unmet therapeutic needs for individuals suffering as a result of neurological trauma and/or degeneration stream is initially developing an acute stroke therapy a biologic drug that has shown preclinically to be neuroprotective and neuroreparative resulting in dramatic functional improvement sunrise health -- houston sunrise health is an app for text-based group therapy and peer support where patients with substance abuse or mental health conditions can receive 24/7 stigma-free support the app uses artificial intelligence to catch clinically relevant information within messages so existing providers can focus their time on patients most in need vastbiome -- houston vastbiome applies machine-learning methods to model how the gut microbiome influences disease the company enables pharmaceutical companies to select the best patients for clinical trial enrollment by predicting patient response to immunotherapy venostent -- dallas a jlabs startup company from vanderbilt university ip venostent inc is developing a shape memory polymer external stent to improve the quality and length of life for the more than 2 million (and growing) dialysis patients worldwide verdegen -- kingwood verdegens go! mosquito repellent gel is modeled on the success of hand sanitizer and hand soap wall-mount dispensers verdegens dispenser-based products are designed to put repellents where people need them and lets communities/businesses protect their residents/customers xyber -- austin data centers consume 3 percent of the worlds power and consume more than 160 billion gallons of fresh water each year for cooling alone xyber technologies has developed a cooling system for new and existing data centers that reduces power consumption by 40 percent thereby saving the average data center more than $500 000 per year yotta solar -- austin solar energy has become the cheapest form of new electricity generation in many parts of the world energy storage is required to fully utilize solar as a reliable power source yotta is simplifying energy storage with solarleaf an industry first advanced battery that mounts directly behind solar modules drastically reducing installed cost