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Non-invasive Telemetric Assessment of Gut Microbiota Activity in Situ

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Defense Health Agency
Contract: W81XWH-18-C-0359
Agency Tracking Number: H2-0362
Amount: $550,000.00
Phase: Phase II
Program: STTR
Solicitation Topic Code: DHA17A-004
Solicitation Number: 17.A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2017
Award Year: 2021
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2021-05-24
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2022-10-08
Small Business Information
6201 East Oltorf St. Suite 400
Austin, TX 78741-0000
United States
DUNS: 100651798
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Steve Savoy
 Vice President of Research and Development
 (512) 389-9990
 ssavoy@nanohmics.com
Business Contact
 Lea Lundin
Phone: (512) 389-9990
Email: llundin@nanohmics.com
Research Institution
 Texas A&M University Health Science Center
 Cynthia J. Meininger, Ph.D. Cynthia J. Meininger, Ph.D.
 
311 Houston Street, Building 520 Array
College Station, TX 77843-0000
United States

 (254) 742-7037
 Nonprofit College or University
Abstract

Different regions of the human GI tract exhibit different chemical environments and different digestion metabolites. As a result, these regions support different microorganisms, with gradients in metabolic products along the length of the GI tract. Single-point measurements of microbiome metabolites (e.g. in feces) are insufficient to provide detailed information of physiological status because there can be large variations in an individual’s GI transport speed, absorption, and hydration. Furthermore, absorption and consumption of metabolites, for example, short chain fatty acids (SFCAs) can occur during digestion, and therefore make it difficult to correlate the measured values back to the real concentration experienced by the gut during protein and carbohydrate metabolism. Ideally, in situ measurements of the chemical environment and microbiome metabolites, along with the GI tract, would provide sufficient details to assess overall individual health, and may indicate changes in diet and/or environment that would have beneficial or detrimental effects on health and performance results. Nanohmics Inc., in partnership with the Department of Medical Physiology at the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAM-HSC), has been developing a novel ingestible telemetry capsule that will measure in situ environmental conditions and metabolic products in an individual’s GI tract.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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