PATHS-UP

What PATHS-UP does

PATHS-UP (Precise Advanced Technologies and Health Systems for Underserved Populations) is a U.S. National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (NSF ERC), founded in 2017 and headquartered at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, with partner research programs at UCLA, Rice University, and Florida International University. Arizona State University serves as the independent evaluation partner. The center's mission is to develop revolutionary, cost-effective point-of-care and wearable health-monitoring technologies targeted at medically underserved U.S. populations disproportionately affected by diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The work is organized into four interconnected research thrusts: (1) amplification biochips and implantable barcode sensors built on microfluidics, paper fluidics, nanoparticles, and subcutaneous multiplexed sensing; (2) mobile computational imaging and spectroscopy systems, including handheld Raman/fluorescence readers, photonic-chip spectrometers, and Raspberry Pi-based readers; (3) wearable sensing and imaging technologies, including multi-modal radial-artery physiological sensors, plasmonic paper microfluidics for sweat analysis, and the lensless Bio-FlatScope imager; and (4) remote bio-behavioral inference and patient response, which builds personalized health models from continuous glucose monitor data, wearable activity streams, and ecological momentary assessments. Two flagship platforms anchor the portfolio — Lab-in-your-Palm (LiyP) for palm-sized point-of-care diagnostics and Lab-on-a-Wrist (LoaW) for continuous wearable monitoring interfacing with implantable sensors.

PATHS-UP is an academic research consortium, not a commercial company, and does not sell products or report commercial revenue. Operating funding flows primarily from the NSF ERC program (initial award in 2017, renewed for a second five-year term in November 2022), supplemented by industry membership fees through the Industry Practitioner Advisory Board (IPAB), institutional cost-sharing via Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, and SBIR/STTR sub-awards to small-business partners. The center's go-to-market model is technology transfer: research outputs are disseminated through peer-reviewed publications in journals including Nature, ACS Nano, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, and Lab on a Chip, and commercialized downstream by industry partners via the SBIR/STTR and ERC Collaboration Opportunity (SECO) program, the Innovation Seed Fund, and startup spin-outs such as CardiaTex, Inc. Customer-facing segments are structurally different from a commercial enterprise: the primary end-beneficiaries are medically underserved U.S. communities with limited access to equitable care, healthcare providers serving those communities, and chronic-disease patients at risk of secondary complications.

The center is led by Director Dr. Gerard L. Côté (Texas A&M) and Deputy Director Dr. Dino Di Carlo (UCLA), with thrust leads at UCLA, Rice, and FIU, and is staffed by 101–250 personnel including faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and staff. Organizational reach extends beyond research to workforce development across K–12 (RET, Young Scholars), undergraduate (REU, VIP, BS/Masters of Public Health), and graduate (experiential learning, fellowship funding) cohorts, and to ecosystem engagement through annual Digital Health Workshops held at Rice University and a quarterly IPAB newsletter distributed to industry members.

Name

PATHS-UP

Legal name

PATHS-UP (Precise Advanced Technologies and Health Systems for Underserved Populations)

Website

https://pathsup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

PATHS-UP is an NSF Engineering Research Center, founded in 2017 and led by Texas A&M with UCLA, Rice, and FIU, developing point-of-care and wearable health-monitoring platforms (Lab-in-your-Palm, Lab-on-a-Wrist) for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in medically underserved U.S. populations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Technology Research (Point-of-Care Diagnostics and Wearable Monitoring)

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Cardiometabolic RPM & Chronic Disease Management (diabetes, hypertension, CHF, obesity) (HLALAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wearables & Consumer IoT Integration Platforms (BYOD) (HLACAFAF), Chronic Disease Remote Monitoring (COPD/CHF/HTN, Weight & Symptom Tracking) (HLAHACAI), Chronic Disease Management Pathways (e.g., diabetes, CHF, COPD) (HLACAGAG), Diabetes Digital Therapeutics & Dose Decision Support (Bolus Calculators) (HLAHAHAJ)

Keywords

• Point-of-care diagnostics
• Wearable health monitoring
• Computational imaging
• Bio-behavioral modeling
• Microfluidic biosensors

Headquarters

HQ city

College Station

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PATHS-UP is an NSF Engineering Research Center that develops point-of-care and wearable diagnostic platforms (Lab-in-your-Palm and Lab-on-a-Wrist) for chronic disease management (diabetes and cardiovascular disease) in medically under-resourced populations. Its outputs include amplification biochips, implantable barcode sensors, mobile computational imaging readers, wearable physiological sensors, plasmonic paper microfluidics, lensless imagers, and AI-driven bio-behavioral modeling software, with research licensing pathways through SBIR/STTR and industry partnerships.

Product overview

PATHS-UP is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center developing two primary technology platforms: the Lab-in-your-Palm (LiyP) for point-of-care diagnostics and the Lab-on-a-Wrist (LoaW) for continuous wearable monitoring. These platforms are built upon four interconnected research thrusts: (1) Amplification Biochips and Implantable Bar-code Sensors for microfluidic diagnostics and subcutaneous sensing; (2) Mobile Computational Imaging and Spectroscopy Systems including handheld Raman/fluorescence devices; (3) Wearable Sensing Technologies including plasmonic paper microfluidics and lensless Bio-FlatScope imagers; and (4) Digital Health Systems Design integrating bio-behavioral modeling with continuous glucose monitoring analysis. The center's work focuses on chronic disease management (diabetes, cardiovascular disease) in medically under-resourced populations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lab-in-your-Palm (LiyP) Platform A transformative point-of-care diagnostic platform designed for palm-sized portable health monitoring, enabling rapid testing for cardiovascular disease and diabetes biomarkers at the point-of-care in underserved communities.
• Lab-on-a-Wrist (LoaW) Platform A wearable wrist-worn platform for continuous monitoring of key biomarkers including glucose and oxygen in blood, designed to interface with implantable barcode sensors for chronic disease management.
• Amplification Biochips Microfluidic and paper fluidic biosensor technologies for point-of-care detection of cardiovascular disease and diabetes biomarkers, including cartridge-based assays using nanoparticles and amplification techniques.
• Implantable Bar-code Sensors Subcutaneous implantable sensors with multiplexed detection capabilities for continuous monitoring of multiple analytes including glucose and oxygen, designed for integration with the Lab-on-a-Wrist platform.
• Mobile Computational Imaging Systems Low-cost, compact mobile and handheld reader platforms using smartphone-based microscopy, multi-modal spectroscopy, and computational imaging for diagnostics at point-of-care settings.
• Handheld Raman and Fluorescence Systems Portable spectroscopic devices for point-of-care diagnostics including modular and handheld Raman systems for SERS-based detection of cardiac biomarkers.
• Wearable Sensing Technologies Multi-modal physiological sensing wearable devices for blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability monitoring, with refined optical signal processing for obese populations.
• Wearable Plasmonic Paper Microfluidics Wearable plasmonic paper-based microfluidic devices for continuous sweat analysis using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with in-situ sensing capabilities.
• Bio-FlatScope (PhlatCam Lensless Imager) In vivo lensless microscopy technology using a phase mask generating diffraction patterns with high-contrast contours for implantable imaging applications.
• Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Analysis Systems Bio-behavioral modeling systems analyzing continuous glucose monitor data to identify patterns in glucose responses and develop personalized diabetes management interventions.

Quantifiable outcome

• PATHS-UP was renewed for another five years by NSF in November 2022, demonstrating sustained impact and success
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and supporting.

• CardiaTex, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025CardiaTex, Inc. was featured as a New Startup Spotlight in the PATHS-UP IPAB Newsletter Q1 2025, indicating emerging collaboration or technology transfer from PATHS-UP research for cardiovascular diagnostics.
• Texas A&M UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTexas A&M University is the lead institution and headquarters of PATHS-UP ERC. The center is located at Texas A&M with Dr. Gerard Coté serving as Director. Texas A&M leads the overall coordination, administration, and primary research activities.
• UCLAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a partner institution with Dr. Dino Di Carlo serving as Deputy Director and Thrust 1 Co-Lead. UCLA contributes expertise in bioengineering and computational imaging research.
• Rice UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRice University is a partner institution with Dr. Ashok Veeraraghavan and Dr. Ashutosh Sabharwal leading key research thrusts. Rice contributes expertise in computational imaging, scalable health labs, and digital health systems.
• Florida International University (FIU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlorida International University is a partner institution with Dr. Jessica Ramella-Roman serving as Thrust 3 Co-Lead. FIU contributes expertise in wearable technologies and sensing for diverse populations.
• Arizona State UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerArizona State University serves as the Evaluation Partner for PATHS-UP, providing independent assessment and evaluation of the center's research outcomes and impact.
• Wasatch PhotonicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWasatch Photonics, specifically VP of Spectroscopy Michael Matthews, is an Industry Advisory Board member collaborating on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy development for point-of-care diagnostics.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dexcom: Dominant continuous glucose monitoring company. Relevant as a benchmark for the diabetes-monitoring side of PATHS-UP's Lab-on-a-Wrist platform and CGM analysis IP.
• GE HealthCare: Patient monitoring and diagnostics incumbent with significant RPM presence. Comparable as a large incumbent whose scope overlaps with PATHS-UP's point-of-care and wearable monitoring platforms.
• Withings: Connected health devices (scales, watches, BPM) for chronic condition monitoring. Comparable as a consumer-facing multi-parameter chronic disease monitoring player.
• Philips: Connected care/RPM portfolio alongside hospital-grade monitoring. Broad incumbent relevant for comparison on chronic disease remote monitoring deployments.
• Abbott: Operates FreeStyle Libre CGM and a broad diagnostics portfolio. Comparable on the chronic disease biomarker detection and consumer wearable monitoring axis.

Direct peers

• Eko Health: Digital stethoscope and AI auscultation for cardiac/pulmonary assessment. Comparable as a point-of-care device with embedded AI for frontline clinicians, similar to PATHS-UP's LiyP vision.
• iRhythm Technologies: Wearable cardiac monitoring (Zio patch) with AI-based arrhythmia detection. Direct overlap with PATHS-UP's cardiovascular wearable sensing and AI analytics work.
• AliveCor: Consumer and clinical ECG (KardiaMobile) with AI-driven cardiac insights. Direct peer for PATHS-UP's PPG-based cardiovascular monitoring and AI biosensing capabilities.

Emerging players

• Empatica: Wearable biosensors for continuous physiological monitoring and digital biomarkers. Comparable to the LoaW platform's wearable multi-modal physiological sensing work.
• BioIntellisense: Continuous multi-parameter wearable monitoring for remote patient care. Direct overlap with PATHS-UP's chronic disease remote monitoring use cases.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/PathsUp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pathsup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about PATHS-UP