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A 2-in-1 wearable bioelectric device for sinus relief and fever alerts
About Team SinuSense
About Team SinuSense
We are a team of engineers and neuroscientists from CU Boulder who have invented the SinuSense bioelectronic device for those suffering from either or both sinus congestion and fever. Iris Li, Karisma Leung, and Estelle Kennamer are biomedical engineers, and Lidiya Haile is a neuroscience student.
Concerned about the burdens of acute illness symptoms around her, Iris Li dreamed up SinuSense while a freshman at CU Boulder in December of 2022. The concept of the SinuSense device was inspired by an acupressure practice recommended by doctors to reduce congestion by massaging the sinus regions with the pressure of one’s fingers.
As of 2025, we have a fully integrated prototype that needs to be further engineered into a marketable product with the addition of a printed circuit board, Bluetooth, mobile app, and evidence from extensive user testing. Our team has not yet become a legal company but would like to do so very soon. We have presented our prototype at the Biomedical Engineering Bioinstrumentation EXPO in April 2025 at CU Boulder.
Iris Li
Founder, Engineer
The Technology
The Technology
SinuSense™ is the name of a 2-in-1 wearable device developed by a team of biomedical and electrical engineering undergraduates at CU Boulder. The project began during Iris’ freshman year at CU Boulder as a remedy for the burdensome side effects of rampant illnesses among college students and professors: sinus/nasal congestion and fever. It uses a forehead temperature correlation to detect the onset of each symptom and then triggers therapeutic vibration and mobile app alerts. Users bespectacled or not can wear SinuSense for hours continuously, autonomously, and hands-free.
Sinusense_Expo_Poster.pdfBioinstrumentation EXPO Poster in April 2025 of SinuSense prototype development.
SinuSense uses an infrared temperature sensing algorithm, mobile app, and electricity to:
Detect congestion and oscillate motors for sinus relief
Detect and alert of fever
Recharge
The housing is admittedly still rudimentary, but blueprints are underway for a more sleek design and material selection.
User-Friendly Design
User-Friendly Design
Media1.movA demonstration of the full integrated prototype at the EXPO on a midly congested user.
SinuSense is:
Automated
Wearable
Hands-free
Portable
Non-invasive
THE PROBLEM
THE PROBLEM
Congestion is the most common side effect for fever, cold, viruses, allergies, etc. Alternative ways to relieve congestion are not portable, wearable, or reusable enough, especially for those who are tired and bedridden or who work away from home. Congestion causes net loss in income daily.
Neurostimulation methods have been employed to help reduce congestion, migraines, dry eye, etc., using resonating frequencies (Ax, 2025, and Krouse, 2010)
Existing devices on the market are either too invasive or do not fit the vision for maximum usability by the everyday worker or student.
OUR SOLUTION
OUR SOLUTION
SinuSense emulates acupressure on the maxillary sinus region, reducing congestion and its side effects by dislodging mucus with mechanical resonance in a wearable, portable device.
Founders' Video and acknowledgements
Founders' Video and acknowledgements
Click for the video: SinuSense_PDR_Bioinstrumentation_Iris_Karisma_Estelle_Ethan.mp4
Thank you to Ethan Lam as well, part of the founding team and an electrical engineer from CU Boulder.
Ax, Timon, et al. “On the Nose: Nasal Neurostimulation as a Technology Countermeasure for Sinonasal Congestion in Astronauts.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 21 Apr. 2025, www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2025.1536496/full. Krouse J, Lund V, Fokkens W, Meltzer EO. Diagnostic strategies in nasal congestion. Int J Gen Med. 2010 Apr 8;3:59-67. doi: 10.2147/ijgm.s8084. PMID: 20463824; PMCID: PMC2866556.
Please contact Iris Li at iriswli.27@gmail.com for the plans for SinuSense finalization.
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