Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objective of this collaborative research project is to commercialize a prototype photoacoustic computed-tomography (PCT) scanner for conducting preclinical molecular imaging. This scanner has been developed by OptoSonics with funding from a Fast Track SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute (R44-CA-102891) and additional private funding fro ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Congestive heart failure is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. While progress in conventional treatments is making steady and incremental gains to reduce heart failure mortality, there is a critical need to explore new therapeutic approaches. It is now apparent that gene therapy has broader potential in diseases such as congestive he ...

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Burn injuries and chronic wounds present a significant burden to patients and the US healthcare system Each year in the US there are burns that require medical treatment and burn patients that require hospitalization The mortality rate associated with severe burns can be as high as with of patient deaths arising from infection In add ...

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Systemic lupus erythematosus SLE is a devastating autoimmune disease that most commonly affects women in their child bearing years SLE attacks multiple organ systems but renal and neurologic involvement are the usual harbingers of poor outcome Despite effective albeit toxic immunosuppressive therapy only of patients with these serious manifestations ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Infection surrounding metal implants is a common and sometimes devastating cause of implant failure in a number of fields including oral, craniomaxillofacial (CMF), orthopedic, and cardiovascular surgery. These infections, which arise from the establishment of biofilms on device surfaces, not only necessitate new surgeries but in themselves present a significan ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mesothelial cells have been found to be pivotal in tumor metastasis, peritoneal dialysis, and inflammatory response. These cells are specialized epithelial cells that line the peritoneal, pericardial, and pleural cavities and internal organs presenting a barrier to invading organisms and physical damage. Ovarian tumor attachments occur through cancer cells bind ...

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Western lifestyle and diet have spurred the growth of numerous obesity related disorders in the US including metabolic syndrome and type diabetes to epidemic proportions However less well known is the rising epidemic of non alcoholic fatty liver disease NAFLD NAFLD ranges from mild hepatosteatosis to severe fibrosis or cirrhosis and is initially charac ...

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Diabetes and diabetes related co morbidities are at epidemic proportions and an enormous burden to our healthcare system Although there has been significant progress in defining the causative factors and molecular mechanisms involved in both type and type diabetes it remains an overwhelming challenge to identify efficacious therapeutic modalities Novel a ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over 6.3 million fractures occur each year in the United States alone (Praemer et al. 1999) and approximately 15% of fractures exhibit delayed or impaired healing. The clinical applications currently used to treat delayed fracture require open surgery to insert an autologous bone graft. If open surgery is confounded by co-morbidity or is deemed otherwise undes ...

DESCRIPTION (PROVIDED BY APPLICANT): Schizophrenia affects roughly 1% of the world's population, with more than two million Americans afflicted in any given year, and an estimated 30-50 million people worldwide. Treatment with available antipsychotic medications often effectively attenuates the positive symptoms of schizophrenia without improvement in the negative symptoms or cognitive deficits. F ...