PULSE OF INNOVATION – JULY 2021

Small Businesses (83)

Below is a list of our recent awards this quarter. Next quarter will be a busy one for the MTEC team with over 50 new awards or funding increases planned.

Several MTEC projects, including those from small businesses and academia, have reached major milestones over the last quarter of business. Below is a sampling of several of these successful projects.

The design of biomaterials that stabilize fractures while remodeling to form new bone is an unmet challenge in bone tissue engineering. Open fracture injuries are one of the largest sources of morbidity on the battlefield. In fact, over 80% of battlefield-injured warriors have at least one extremity wound, the majority of which are penetrating soft tissue injuries or open fractures. To this end, the Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology is developing an injectable, settable bone void filler (BVF). BVFs are synthetic formulations that are injected into a bone void caused by an injury. The BVF hardens and provides mechanical support as well as a scaffold for new bone growth. The overall goal is to achieve an optimal balance between bone growth rate and BVF resorption rate. Vanderbilt has demonstrated bone healing in preclinical models and developed commercial-scale manufacturing processes for their bone void filler technology. This project was funded through MTEC-16-01-REGEN.

The military is actively pursuing the integration of advanced simulations into their medical training regimens for increased training speed, better reacquisition and retention of surgical skills, reduced training in live injured patients, and fewer medical errors in the field, among other advantages. 8i is creating Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) training experiences that demonstrate effectiveness of immersive training for Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) in improving retention, response time, and rapid decision making under pressure. 8i’s VR and AR training experiences leverage the power of volumetric video to provide a realistic training experience that mirrors real world classroom training. This project was funded through MTEC 17-08-MultiTopic.

Epidural bleeding from traumatic brain injury (TBI) is immediately life-threatening and can quickly lead to brain herniation and death unless there is emergent neurosurgical intervention. Critical Innovations is developing the BurRapid Intracranial Access Platform, which is a mobile, lightweight, low-power, modular, interoperable, ruggedized, and low-cost medical device that allows for hematoma drainage, intracranial pressure monitoring, and other neurosurgical procedures to sustain TBI patients on the battlefield. This will help speed the time for an injured warfighter to receive definitive treatment while maximizing safety and minimizing complications. This project was funded through MTEC-19-08-MuLTI.

Early detection of a COVID-19 infection is a critical force readiness issue for the United States Armed Forces. There is an urgent need for development of rapid, accurate wearable diagnostics to identify and isolate asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic COVID-19 cases, and track and prevent the spread of the virus. Therefore, Fitbit is developing and validating an algorithm to detect COVID-19, potentially before symptoms appear. Fitbit Sense^TM and Versa 3^TM smartwatches are being provided to Northwell Health employees, representing a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated participants. Study participants will receive notifications of potential illness, and will undergo COVID-19 testing to assess and verify results, allowing a close comparison of current COVID-19 testing with data from wearables. Fitbit began enrolling patients for this study in February 2021. This project was funded through MTEC-20-12-COVID19_Diagnostics.

To enjoy previous project highlights, click here. If you have any questions regarding these research efforts, please reach out to Dr. Lauren Palestrini, MTEC Director of Research.

As the Government continues to make headway through the evaluations for the 20-06-MPAI and as we identify focus areas for the next MPAI, we encourage you to explore outside funding opportunities when applicable. Please visit SAM.gov, which is the official site for searching for federal funding opportunities and registering to do business with the federal government. Below, you will find links and descriptions to other funding opportunities relevant to technology being developed by MTEC member organizations.

• Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP): CDMRP funding opportunities support biomedical research in response to the expressed needs of its stakeholders – the American public, the military, and Congress. The CDMRP fills research gaps by funding high impact, high risk and high gain projects that other agencies may not venture to fund, all with the common goal of advancing paradigm shifting research. In particular, please pay special attention to:
  • Defense Health Program Department of Defense Combat Readiness – Medical Research Program: https://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/press/2021/21crrppreann
• National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR/STTR Program: The NSF SBIR/STTR Program is a congressionally mandated program that supports research and development of high-risk, high-impact technologies. Startups and small businesses are not required to have a track record of past commercialization success in order to apply. Their goal is to foster innovation and help create businesses and jobs in the United States.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps Program: The NSF I-Corps Program uses experiential education to help researchers gain valuable insight into entrepreneurship, starting a business, and industry challenges. Teams can apply for funding to participate in this program. Through intensive NSF I-Corps training, researchers can reduce the time to translate a promising idea from the laboratory to the marketplace.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) SBIR/STTR Program: The NIH SBIR/STTR Program supports health and life science companies that are creating innovative technologies that align with NIH’s mission to improve health and save lives. A key objective is to translate promising technologies to the private sector and enable life-saving innovations to reach consumer markets. Standard due dates are January 5, April 5, and September 5 each year.
• DoD SBIR/STTR: The DoD relies on constant innovation to protect the nation and enhance their warfighting capabilities. Applicants apply through the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP). DSIP organizes funding opportunities for the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and other DoD components including CBD, DHA, DLA, DMEA, DTRA, MDA, NGA, OSD, SCO, and USSOCOM.
• Medical CBRN Defense Consortium (MCDC): The MCDC offers funding opportunities for technologies that provide innovative, safe and effective medical solutions to counter Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (CBRN) threats. The MCDC provides the flexibility for a better public and private collaboration by providing access to innovative concepts, ideas, and technologies from traditional and non-traditional technology providers.

The MTEC Commercialization Program provides outreach, education, mentoring, networking and commercialization services and investment support to MTEC members, particularly small business members. We are proud to show that over 50% (67/128) of awards issued by MTEC are to small businesses.

Through the MTEC Commercialization program, we connect members to our network of subject matter experts we call M-Corps. MTEC’s M-Corps aligns innovators with military priorities, objectives and capabilities to ensure health and wellness of the Warfighter. MTEC has begun discussions on teaming agreements with providers to offer services to members in support of product and business development. M-Corps will offer members a wide variety of support services, including:

• Technical guidance and advice – regulatory review preparation, trial design, execution support, and regulatory compliance assistance — and business support – IP/licensing and business development, getting on to the federal government General Services Administration (GSA) schedule for selling products to the federal government, market research, financial management and modeling, access to capital and investment support.
• Business planning and preparation support.
• Small business resources for communicating to others about your offerings, such as potential development, business and investment partners. Examples include templates for creating company profiles, investment pitch decks, and business planning canvases.
• Investment pitch preparation, coaching and competition access.

Please reach out to Rick Satcher for assistance.

Our next scheduled MTEC Education Webinar is Tuesday, July 20^th, 1 pm EST. Please join Susan Raymond, MTEC’s Director of Strategic Funding, Kate Golden, Senior Managing Director at Changing Our World, and Diane Bovenkamp, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, BrightFocus Foundation as they discuss sources and processes for receiving private support from foundations and philanthropy. Link to register is .

Our August 11^th 1 pm webinar will feature Ken Bertram, Senior Advisor, MTEC, and former Principal Assistant for Acquisition, MRDC to describe how best to pitch your technology to the military. Members will learn how to construct an effective 2-3 minute elevator pitch for speaking with military at MHSRS, develop a 1 page overview to leave with sponsor, and create a compelling 5 min presentation that resonates with military interest/requirements.

David Uffer, Senior Partner, VP MedTech, Alira Health will be speaking at our September 15, 1 pm EST webinar on pricing and reimbursement strategies for early-stage entrepreneurs. Pricing and reimbursement for medical products is among the highest priorities for an experienced investor. Most early-stage entrepreneurs do not include these strategies or a discussion about evidence generation requirements in their presentations. This webinar will describe ways to approach a sound strategy that enables productive discussions with investors and partners.

Don’t forget about our member connect resources, including the Member Profiles site where you can describe your technology capabilities and collaboration interests for all members to see!

If you would like to start a discussion thread via our Linked In site on any topic pertaining to MTEC solicitations, awards, product development, or commercialization, please reach out to me or Madison Bell.

– Rick Satcher, MTEC Director of Commercialization