When university research has the potential to become a product or company, moving from the lab to the marketplace can be one of the biggest challenges the aspiring entrepreneurs face. For two University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty startups, that difficult journey is getting a boost from an organization recently recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the best incubators and accelerators in the country: Innosphere.
This year, two engineering faculty startups, sponsored by NUtech, are participating in Innosphere’s 2026 Life Sciences Incubator: Greg Bashford’s Neurosound and Eric Markvicka’s Sentinel Rhythm Health.
Greg Bashford, professor of Biological Systems Engineering, founded Neurosound, a startup that is developing a handheld ultrasound device intended to give emergency and critical care providers a clearer picture of cerebral blood flow. During situations like cardiac arrest or resuscitation, clinicians have limited ways to assess whether the brain is receiving adequate blood flow. Neurosound’s device could solve this problem by providing rapid, non-invasive information about blood flow in real-time.
Eric Markvicka, Robert F. and Myrna L. Krohn Associate Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, founded Sentinel Rhythm Health, a startup that is also attempting to solve an important health challenge. Sentinel Rhythm Health is developing AirHalo, a wearable platform designed to detect changes associated with childhood asthma before those changes develop into more serious symptoms. Currently, families and clinicians manage childhood asthma by responding to symptoms after they occur. AirHalo is designed to identify those problems earlier, giving families more timely information and helping clinicians administer better informed treatment. Ultimately, Sentinel Rhythm Health aims to help children remain active and independent, all while reducing the likelihood of preventable emergencies.
