Brook & Beyond Award Supports Development of Steerable Feeding Tube Placement Technology
A multidisciplinary team of Stony Brook University researchers has received $50,000 in funding through the Brook & Beyond Innovation Challenge to advance a new technology designed to improve and accelerate feeding tube placement procedures.
The project, “Steerable Stylet for Feeding Tube Placement,” aims to develop a steerable device that allows clinicians to guide a feeding tube past the stomach as it is advanced through the gastrointestinal tract. Currently, positioning feeding tubes beyond the stomach can be a time-consuming process that can take hours or even days. The team’s technology seeks to reduce placement time to approximately 5–10 minutes, improving efficiency and patient care.
The project is a collaboration between Dr. Rahul Panesar of Stony Brook’s Department of Pediatric Critical Care and Professor Jon Longtin of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who serve as the project’s principal investigators. Additional team members include Professor Wei Yin of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Sean Boykevisch from the Office of the Vice President for Innovation and Partnerships (IPP), Michael Bielski from the Center for Biotechnology, and several graduate and undergraduate students.
“Having the opportunity to work with innovative physicians like Dr. Panesar has been one of the most rewarding aspects in my 30-year history here at Stony Brook. In addition to the innovation, entrepreneurial and commercialization opportunities for projects like this, knowing that there is the potential for direct, meaningful impact in the care and support of others is incredibly rewarding,” said Prof. Longtin, a Co-PI and the technical lead on the project.
Funding from Brook & Beyond will support the continued development and commercialization pathway for the technology. Project milestones include creating functional prototypes, conducting initial clinical testing, completing market and customer discovery studies, and developing a licensing package to engage potential commercialization partners.
The project will run from July 2026 through June 2027 and represents an important step toward translating an innovative medical device concept into a practical clinical solution.