Biomedical Technology Research and Development

Agency:

Department of Health and Human Services

Branch:

N/A

Program | Phase | Year:

SBIR | Phase I | 2011

Solicitation:

PHS-2011-2 PA-11-096

Topic Number:

NOTE: The Solicitations and topics listed on this site are copies from the various SBIR agency solicitations and are not necessarily the latest and most up-to-date. For this reason, you should use the agency link listed below which will take you directly to the appropriate agency server where you can read the official version of this solicitation and download the appropriate forms and rules.

The official link for this solicitation is: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm

Release Date:

January 24, 2011

Open Date:

March 05, 2011

Application Due Date:

January 08, 2012

Close Date:

January 08, 2012

Description:

New or improved instruments, devices, and related methodologies to facilitate biomedical or behavioral research. Instrumentation includes, but is not limited to mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, imaging, optical or laser spectroscopies, X-ray absorption/diffraction/scattering, detectors, electron or confocal microscopies, electrophoresis and other separation techniques, bioreactors, centrifugation, and flow cytometry.

A. Information Technology: Development of information and communication technology, computer and other mathematical sciences in support of biomedical or behavioral research. This may include:

1. Interactive tools and technologies for meaningful and intuitive exploration of biomedical and health-related data and information that (a) create cognitively useful spatial mapping of not inherently spatial datasets; (b) synthesize methods and approaches from computer graphics, human-computer interaction, cognitive psychology, semiotics, graphic design, statistical graphics, cartography, art and other relevant fields; (c) utilize visualization, statistics, information modeling, artificial intelligence (AI), semantics, ontology merging, natural language processing (NLP), data mining, personalization, malleable interfaces, serious games, uncertainty modeling; (d) enable personalized information delivery and communication of complex concepts across scientific disciplines; (e) have proven useful in other scientific domains.

2. Creating resources for clinical and biomedical research such as (a) long-term sustainable environments for scientific databases, and tools for data federation; (b) online environments for scientific collaborations, data sharing, behavioral and population studies, and social network analyses.

3. Developing computational and conceptual infrastructures that enable the transformation of biomedical, clinical, and other health-related data into evidence-based knowledge about human health. These may include methods and tools for (a) identifying knowledge gaps; (b) creating computed or synthesized knowledge; (c) creating coherent information from multi-modal diverse sources of varying reliability and accuracy; (d) assessing data, information, and knowledge provenance; (e) integrating heterogeneous data sources with the use of interdisciplinary methods (e.g. graph theory, principal component analysis, differential geometry, etc) to enable meaningful exploration of high-dimensional data spaces; (f) knowledge discovery and validation, computable abstracts; (g) assessing datasets and models for re-purposing and re-use.

4. Computer simulations and modeling.

B. Technology for Systems Biology: Development of novel technologies for proteomics, glycomics, metabolomics, and other aspects of systems biology for discovery and clinical applications, (e.g., sample handling, separations, mass spectrometry, and computational tools for protein identification, data curation and mining).

C. Technology for Computational Biology: Development of computational biology software packages for integrative analysis of genomics data, especially ones relevant to applications of new sequencing technologies. The proposed work should apply best practices and proven methods for software design, construction, and implementation to promote adoption by a broad biomedical research community.

D. Technology for Structural Biology: Development of detectors and cameras for studying the structures of biomolecules in the size range of peptides to cells, using synchrotron radiation and multiple types of microscopy.

E. Imaging Technology: Development of non-invasive imaging techniques and methodologies to facilitate understanding of biological systems at the molecular, cellular or organ levels. Imaging modalities include, but are not limited to, magnetic resonance imaging/spectroscopy (MRI/MRS), positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission tomography (SPECT), X-ray computer tomography (CT), ultrasound (US) , diffuse optical imaging (DOI), magnetoencephalography (MEG), transcranial magnetic simulations (TMS), electroencephalography (EEG) and other integrated modalities (such as PET/MRI, PET/CT, etc). Areas of interest may include:

1. Contrast agent development including but not limited to (a) exogenous or endogenous imaging agents to detect structural, functional or molecular signatures of disease progression; (b) imaging agents capable of crossing biological barrier for diagnostics or therapeutic interventions.

2. Hardware development to improve image accuracy, spatial/temporal resolution, and signal-to- noise ratios and to broaden imaging capabilities to cellular and sub-cellular levels.

3. Software development such as (a) image processing software for high-throughput, integrative and robust data interpretation in preclinical and clinical settings; (b) image acquisition protocols to enhance image quality/specificity, monitor biochemical activities or functions in biological systems.

Electron Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction

Dr. Mary Ann Wu