MTEC Commercialization Grants - 2022

Purpose

This solicitation, issued by MTEC, represents a Request for Project Proposals (RPP) for the new “MTEC Commercialization Grant” mechanism (See Section 3 for more details), to be funded with MTEC consortium funding.

• Objective: To provide non-dilutive MTEC awards that fund M-Corps partner engagement for the purpose of providing members professional services that advance commercialization readiness.
• Funding Available: $600,000 total, up to $50,000 per award
• Award Type: Grant
• Scope of Work: Business, technical, and strategic planning projects.

Scope of Work

In multi-domain operations (MDO), today’s operating force will be overwhelmed with casualties, the ability to evacuate will be limited, first responders and medics will struggle with limited resources and ability to achieve the “Golden Day,” resulting in operational units and commanders rapidly losing freedom of maneuver and combat effectiveness. Therefore, medical assets must be highly mobile and more dispersed (e.g., smaller, more modular medical units), Warfighters will require greater self-sufficiency and autonomy (e.g., may have more limited medical-related communications and re-supply), and there will be an increased cognitive and physical stress on Warfighters (they will need ways to maximize lethality and return to the fight quickly).

Therefore, proposed projects shall focus on providing medical solutions to support readiness and care in future battlefield scenarios in support of the following areas:

• Prolonged Field Care (PFC): Because battlefield conditions impose severe constraints on available manpower, equipment, and medical supplies available for casualty care, there is a need for medical interventions that can be used within the battle area or as close to it as possible, before or during medical evacuation. Preferred medical techniques and materiel that can be used by combat medics must be easily transportable (i.e., small, lightweight, and durable in extreme environments and handling), easy to use and require low maintenance. Additionally, wound infection in a PFC environment poses a significant threat to operational readiness and effectiveness. It is anticipated that future battlefield scenarios will necessitate the need for medical techniques, knowledge products, and materiel to manage wound infections in theater.
• Medical Readiness: This area focuses on developing technologies that maximize medical readiness and provide mobile health solution sets for the modern Warfighter. Efforts may include diagnostics, treatments, AI-based advanced telehealth technologies, and training solutions to prevent or reduce injury and improve physiological and psychological health and resilience. This objective includes environmental health and protection including the assessment and sustainment of health and the operational effectiveness of Service members exposed to harsh operational environments including altitude, cold, heat, and exposure to environmental health. This focus area also includes medical readiness in response to infectious diseases encountered by Service members during deployment and those that can significantly impact performance.
• Maximizing Human Potential: This area aims to develop effective countermeasures against military-relevant stressors and to prevent physical and psychological injuries during training and operations in order to maximize the human potential, in support of the Army Human Performance Optimization and Enhancement, MDO, and the DoD Total Force Fitness concepts.

It is encouraged that potential Offerors reach out to the MTEC Director of Commercialization listed in Section 6 of this RPP to determine whether your proposed technology has military relevance, aligns with the mission of MTEC, and is within scope for this RPP.

The proposed scope of work will focus on business, technical. and strategic planning projects. Scientific and product development proposals are out of scope. Defining the value proposition for your technology, fit with military and civilian markets, as well proper strategies for IP, clinical and regulatory, market entry and reimbursement, and exits are critical to the early success of start-ups. These grants are meant to help our small business members create and update a clear, concise strategy for their technology.

Examples of the work that could be included in the scope of work are (but not limited to):

• Competitive landscape analysis/ market research.
• IP protection and valuation.
• Regulatory and reimbursement strategy.
• Partnering / business development strategy.
• Engineering design and evaluation.
• Clinical trial protocol development.

Points of Contact

For inquiries, please direct your correspondence to Biomedical Research Associate Chuck Hutti, Ph.D. at Chuck.Hutti@ati.org.