Innovate Carolina selected an undergraduate student startup from the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering to represent UNC-Chapel Hill at the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) InVenture Prize. The ACC InVenture Prize is an innovation competition in which teams of undergraduates representing each ACC university pitch their inventions or businesses before a live audience and a panel of judges. Teams compete for $30,000 in prizes and a chance to be the next ACC InVenture Prize winner.
The selected student startup, Scyntek, is developing a noninvasive, at-home early detection method for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) using photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors. DVT affects up to 900,000 people annually in the U.S., but current detection methods require clinical visits and expensive imaging and often miss early signs of the condition. Scyntek’s goal is to provide a simple, accessible and cost-effective solution that allows people to monitor their vascular health from home and seek treatment before complications arise.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to showcase our work, receive valuable feedback, and represent UNC on a bigger stage,” said Bryce Menichella, Co-Founder of Scyntek. “We’re looking forward to the competition and continuing our work to make early DVT detection more accessible!”
The team has also received funding from NC State’s Wolf Den Competition and UNC-Chapel Hill’s 1789 Student Venture Fund and was selected for First Flight Venture’s ‘March Madness Pitch. Scyntek’s team members include Josh Henderson, Vignesh Sriram, Bryce Menichella and Karthik Ramakrishnan.
Innovate Carolina is a university-wide initiative for innovation and entrepreneurship at UNC-Chapel Hill. It helps faculty, students and staff bring ideas to the world more quickly to address global challenges and strengthen the economy. The initiative emphasizes that only through the rigorous application of innovation tools can society’s most complex problems be solved. For more information about Innovate Carolina and their mission, please visit this link.