The Department of Commerce is seeking applications for members to serve on the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship to advise the Secretary. The Secretary is looking for members who represent diversity in industry, have the right experience, and are located in different geographic areas.
Priority will be given to successful entrepreneurs, innovators, angel investors, venture capitalists, and other experts drawn from non-governmental organizations, foundations, and non-profits that have proven experience in innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Council will identify and recommend solutions to issues critical to help entrepreneurs and firms successfully commercialize new ideas and technologies into high-growth innovation-based businesses.
The November 11th Federal Register, at http://edocket.acess.gpo.gov/2009/E9-27506.htm has more information. Information is available at (202) 482-5336 and applications can be sent electronically to entrepreneurship@doc.gov. Applications must be submitted by November 30th.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
NIH Registry Available
NIH’s National Center for Research Resources now makes it possible for individuals that want to participate in research studies to be matched and connected online with researchers doing studies that may be the right fit for them. This first disease-neutral volunteer recruitment registry called “ResearchMatch.org” is a convenient user friendly matching model complementary to Clinicaltrials.gov.
“Participant recruitment continues to be a significant barrier to the completion of research studies nationwide. Recent NIH data indicates that just 4 percent of the U.S. population has participated in clinical trials. “ResearchMatch” is a tool that can improve the connection and communication between potential participants and researchers so that the public is able to contribute to advancing new treatments,” said NCRR Director Barbara Alving M.D.
The site located at www.ResearchMatch.org places the burden of connecting the right volunteer with the right study to the researchers, whereas Clinicaltrials.gov asks volunteers to identify the trials that could work for them.
“ResearchMatch” offers a convenient solution to the complex competitive and often costly participant recruitment system. NIH data indicates that 85 percent of trials don’t finish on time due to low patient participation and 30 percent of trial sites fail to enroll even a single patient,” according to Gordon Bernard, M.D., Principal Investigator of the Vanderbilt CYSA hosting the national registry.
After an individual has self-registered to become a volunteer, ResearchMatch’s security features ensure that personal information is protected until the volunteer authorizes the release of their contact information to a specific study that may be of interest to them. Volunteers are notified electronically when a possible match is found and at that time the volunteer can make the decision regarding the release of their contact information.
For the first year, only researchers affiliated with participating CTSA institutions are eligible to use “ResearchMatch.” However, plans are in place to make the system available beyond the CTSA consortium by 2011. Currently 52 individual institutions associated with 40 CTSA sites are part of the “ResearchMatch” network.
“Participant recruitment continues to be a significant barrier to the completion of research studies nationwide. Recent NIH data indicates that just 4 percent of the U.S. population has participated in clinical trials. “ResearchMatch” is a tool that can improve the connection and communication between potential participants and researchers so that the public is able to contribute to advancing new treatments,” said NCRR Director Barbara Alving M.D.
The site located at www.ResearchMatch.org places the burden of connecting the right volunteer with the right study to the researchers, whereas Clinicaltrials.gov asks volunteers to identify the trials that could work for them.
“ResearchMatch” offers a convenient solution to the complex competitive and often costly participant recruitment system. NIH data indicates that 85 percent of trials don’t finish on time due to low patient participation and 30 percent of trial sites fail to enroll even a single patient,” according to Gordon Bernard, M.D., Principal Investigator of the Vanderbilt CYSA hosting the national registry.
After an individual has self-registered to become a volunteer, ResearchMatch’s security features ensure that personal information is protected until the volunteer authorizes the release of their contact information to a specific study that may be of interest to them. Volunteers are notified electronically when a possible match is found and at that time the volunteer can make the decision regarding the release of their contact information.
For the first year, only researchers affiliated with participating CTSA institutions are eligible to use “ResearchMatch.” However, plans are in place to make the system available beyond the CTSA consortium by 2011. Currently 52 individual institutions associated with 40 CTSA sites are part of the “ResearchMatch” network.
Legislation Introduced
On November 5th, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced the “Rural TECH Act of 2009” to enhance community health. As he said when he introduced the bill, “As we continue to move forward with healthcare reform, we must make sure that we do not leave our rural communities behind. In my home state of New Mexico, 30 out of 33 counties are designated as medically underserved. I only hope that we use technology to connect experts with providers, facilities, and patients in rural areas, so that critical healthcare services are extended to underserved areas across the country.”
The bill would establish three telehealth pilot projects to analyze clinical health outcomes and the cost effectiveness of telehealth systems in medically underserved and tribal areas. The first pilot would focus on using telehealth for behavioral health interventions such as post traumatic stress disorder and would also explore reimbursement methods for third party payers. A second pilot project would focus on increasing the capacity of healthcare workers to provide health services especially for chronic complex diseases in rural areas using knowledge networks like New Mexico’s Project ECHO. Also proposed is a pilot project for stroke evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation using telehealth technologies.
In addition, the bill would expand access to stroke telehealth services under the Medicare program. Primary Stroke Centers in the state are not accessible to much of the population. For example, there is only one certified Primary Stroke Center in the state located at the University of New Mexico Hospital and in New Mexico alone, there are almost 173,000 Medicare beneficiaries who could gain access to telestroke services.
The bill would improve access to “store and forward” telehealth services in IHS and federally qualified health centers. These services would permit rural health facilities to hold and share transmission to use for medical training and to obtain diagnostic information plus other data.
The bill would also reimburse IHS facilities as originating sites and would establish regulations to consider credentialing and privileging standards for originating sites in order to receive telehealth services.
In another piece of legislation to help doctors deal with the costs for technology, Senator John Kerry on November 10th introduced the “Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act of 2009 (S 2765)” to enable family doctors and other small medical practices to be eligible for SBA loans. These loans would cover the costs of health information technology needed to create electronic health records and prescriptions and would include computer hardware, software, and other technologies.
The maximum amount of the loans may not be more than $350,000 for one qualified eligible professional and $2,000,000 for one group of affiliated qualified eligible professionals.
The bill would establish three telehealth pilot projects to analyze clinical health outcomes and the cost effectiveness of telehealth systems in medically underserved and tribal areas. The first pilot would focus on using telehealth for behavioral health interventions such as post traumatic stress disorder and would also explore reimbursement methods for third party payers. A second pilot project would focus on increasing the capacity of healthcare workers to provide health services especially for chronic complex diseases in rural areas using knowledge networks like New Mexico’s Project ECHO. Also proposed is a pilot project for stroke evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation using telehealth technologies.
In addition, the bill would expand access to stroke telehealth services under the Medicare program. Primary Stroke Centers in the state are not accessible to much of the population. For example, there is only one certified Primary Stroke Center in the state located at the University of New Mexico Hospital and in New Mexico alone, there are almost 173,000 Medicare beneficiaries who could gain access to telestroke services.
The bill would improve access to “store and forward” telehealth services in IHS and federally qualified health centers. These services would permit rural health facilities to hold and share transmission to use for medical training and to obtain diagnostic information plus other data.
The bill would also reimburse IHS facilities as originating sites and would establish regulations to consider credentialing and privileging standards for originating sites in order to receive telehealth services.
In another piece of legislation to help doctors deal with the costs for technology, Senator John Kerry on November 10th introduced the “Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act of 2009 (S 2765)” to enable family doctors and other small medical practices to be eligible for SBA loans. These loans would cover the costs of health information technology needed to create electronic health records and prescriptions and would include computer hardware, software, and other technologies.
The maximum amount of the loans may not be more than $350,000 for one qualified eligible professional and $2,000,000 for one group of affiliated qualified eligible professionals.
eHealth Center Established
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) recently formed the “Center for eHealth Innovation and Process Transformation” (CeHIPT). There is a need for major ongoing projects to be developed to improve the use of electronic medical records and other HIT tools at civilian medical centers and the Veterans Administration.
The Center will integrate WPI’s research technology, in engineering, management, and process development to help healthcare organizations use new HIT systems and related technologies to improve patient care and institutional efficiency.
CeHIPT researchers have joined with colleagues at MIT, Northeastern University, and the VA New England Healthcare System to form the New England Healthcare Engineering Partnership (NEHCEP). The consortium is funded by the VA with $3.4 million annually to apply engineering principles to improve patient care at the VA’s hospitals and clinics in New England.
Through the consortium, WPI faculty and students will be analyzing the VA’s extensive clinical and operational data and processes to design and implement systems changes. Changes are needed to improve functional areas, including bedside, colorectal cancer care, and the administrative processes for compensating disabled veterans.
Housed within the Boston VA Healthcare System, NEHCEP will serve the New England network of eight medical centers and 37 community-based outpatient clinics, which provide care to 1.2 million veterans.
Industrial engineering methods will be studied such as the Toyota Production System, GE six-sigma, and Lean manufacturing tools plus more advanced mathematical and computer modeling methods. In healthcare, these methods could be used to radically improve such concerns as access, waits and delays, safety, optimal care, efficiency, equity, and effectiveness. These are the six national healthcare priorities identified by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering.
In another project, the CeHIPT faculty is undertaking a three year international study funded with $750,000 available through the National Science Foundation. The funding is available to examine and analyze how implementing HIT systems in primary care settings affects medical providers, their patients, and the healthcare delivery system. The researchers are looking at HIT implementations, the roll-out of the systems in various locations, and how management and the staff can adapt to the new systems and tools.
In the U.S., the study is focusing on two organizations including Fallon Clinic in Massachusetts, a large group medical practice, and UMass Memorial Health Care, an integrated medical system that includes 700 primary care physicians, several community hospitals, and an academic medical center.
In Canada, the study will examine the primary care offices of the Vancouver Coastal Health District. While in Israel, the study will examine primary care practices in two of the health funds in the country.
The Center will integrate WPI’s research technology, in engineering, management, and process development to help healthcare organizations use new HIT systems and related technologies to improve patient care and institutional efficiency.
CeHIPT researchers have joined with colleagues at MIT, Northeastern University, and the VA New England Healthcare System to form the New England Healthcare Engineering Partnership (NEHCEP). The consortium is funded by the VA with $3.4 million annually to apply engineering principles to improve patient care at the VA’s hospitals and clinics in New England.
Through the consortium, WPI faculty and students will be analyzing the VA’s extensive clinical and operational data and processes to design and implement systems changes. Changes are needed to improve functional areas, including bedside, colorectal cancer care, and the administrative processes for compensating disabled veterans.
Housed within the Boston VA Healthcare System, NEHCEP will serve the New England network of eight medical centers and 37 community-based outpatient clinics, which provide care to 1.2 million veterans.
Industrial engineering methods will be studied such as the Toyota Production System, GE six-sigma, and Lean manufacturing tools plus more advanced mathematical and computer modeling methods. In healthcare, these methods could be used to radically improve such concerns as access, waits and delays, safety, optimal care, efficiency, equity, and effectiveness. These are the six national healthcare priorities identified by the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering.
In another project, the CeHIPT faculty is undertaking a three year international study funded with $750,000 available through the National Science Foundation. The funding is available to examine and analyze how implementing HIT systems in primary care settings affects medical providers, their patients, and the healthcare delivery system. The researchers are looking at HIT implementations, the roll-out of the systems in various locations, and how management and the staff can adapt to the new systems and tools.
In the U.S., the study is focusing on two organizations including Fallon Clinic in Massachusetts, a large group medical practice, and UMass Memorial Health Care, an integrated medical system that includes 700 primary care physicians, several community hospitals, and an academic medical center.
In Canada, the study will examine the primary care offices of the Vancouver Coastal Health District. While in Israel, the study will examine primary care practices in two of the health funds in the country.
AHRQ's Future Funding Plans
President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPPA) last February. The Act requires pediatric quality measures to be established to strengthen initial core child healthcare quality measures established by the HHS Secretary.
AHRQ through the Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations, issued a Notice (NOT-HS-10-003) on November 10th with information on grant and contract solicitations to be published that will develop pediatric healthcare quality measurement research and provide for demonstrations projects.
The funding is expected to expand existing pediatric quality measures used by public and private healthcare purchasers, advance the development of new and emerging quality measures, and increase evidence-based consensus pediatric quality measures available to public and private purchasers of children’s healthcare services. CHIPRA allows for the use of grants and contracts to achieve these aims and the measures developed through this program will be available by January 1, 2013.
Through a memorandum of understanding between AHRQ and CMS, AHRQ will be the lead agency but work collaboratively with CMS to implement the pediatric quality measures program. Applicants from a broad range of fields will be eligible to apply for the cooperative agreements.
AHRQ anticipates grant and contract solicitations to be published November 2009 with funding to begin in late federal fiscal year 2010. Until the solicitation is published, AHRQ is unable to provide additional information. Email CHIPRAqualitymeasures@ahrq.hhs.gov for answers to general comments.
Go to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HS-10-003.html to read the full notice.
AHRQ through the Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations, issued a Notice (NOT-HS-10-003) on November 10th with information on grant and contract solicitations to be published that will develop pediatric healthcare quality measurement research and provide for demonstrations projects.
The funding is expected to expand existing pediatric quality measures used by public and private healthcare purchasers, advance the development of new and emerging quality measures, and increase evidence-based consensus pediatric quality measures available to public and private purchasers of children’s healthcare services. CHIPRA allows for the use of grants and contracts to achieve these aims and the measures developed through this program will be available by January 1, 2013.
Through a memorandum of understanding between AHRQ and CMS, AHRQ will be the lead agency but work collaboratively with CMS to implement the pediatric quality measures program. Applicants from a broad range of fields will be eligible to apply for the cooperative agreements.
AHRQ anticipates grant and contract solicitations to be published November 2009 with funding to begin in late federal fiscal year 2010. Until the solicitation is published, AHRQ is unable to provide additional information. Email CHIPRAqualitymeasures@ahrq.hhs.gov for answers to general comments.
Go to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HS-10-003.html to read the full notice.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Help for Heart Patients
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded $566,000 in Recovery Act funding to help Vanderbilt University researchers develop an innovative optical system to study the heart. The funding will enable the present eleven year old research project to continue and the researchers will be able to test the innovative optical system. The plan is to simultaneously image electrical activity and metabolic properties in the same region of a heart in order to study the complex mechanisms that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest.
The research team will purchase a pair of $60,000 high-speed and highly sensitive digital cameras to record the changes in the metabolic and electrical activity of isolated cardiac tissue. The cameras will use low-intensity fluorescent dyes under conditions associated with heart failure, ischemia, fibrillation, and other pathological circumstances. The multimodal imaging system will be a less invasive instrumental tool to help scientists discover and test safe and effective ways to prevent or treat arrhythmias.
Support is also being provided by the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE), the American Heart Association, and the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study. John P. Wikswo, PhD, Professor and VIIBRE Director said, “The dual camera system opens up a new window for correlating metabolic and electrophysiological events which are usually studied independently.”
In another project involving a new medical device, Oregon Health & Science University’s hospital is the first hospital in the state to implant the HeartMate II, a new Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) to dramatically improve survival and quality of life in patients with end-stage heart failure.
The HeartMate II is the first LVAD to have a rotor, rather than a pump, and works by providing a constant flow of blood to the body. The device only has one moving part, making it more durable and longer lasting for up to 10 years than previous LVADs. The device is about the size of a cell phone making it one of the first mechanical devices ideally suited for women and others with smaller chest cavities who previously had limited options.
In another part of the country, the Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala Florida is treating patients experiencing sudden cardiac arrest with hypothermia therapy. The program the first in the region to use the non-invasive technology was developed in partnership with the Marion County Fire Rescue and Ocala Fire Rescue departments.
Currently in the U.S., a patient has a 3 to 6 percent chance of return of spontaneous circulation after suffering a cardiac arrest but through the efforts of the rescue units and community hospitals, the rate has improved to 13 to18 percent which is three time the state and national average.
The device called the “Arctic Sun” is a cutting-edge device that cools the body to around 91 degrees Fahrenheit causing mild hypothermia to slow down brain activity. Lowering the body temperature in this way decreases the amount of oxygen the brain uses and at the same time, protects the brain and limits permanent brain damage.
The American Heart Association recommends inducing moderate cooling of the body within six hours after cardiac arrest and sustaining that temperature to be followed by gradual warming has been found to increase the patient’s chances to survive with improved neurological function. It is best if the emergency departments, intensive care units, and physicians work together to coordinate the cooling process.
The research team will purchase a pair of $60,000 high-speed and highly sensitive digital cameras to record the changes in the metabolic and electrical activity of isolated cardiac tissue. The cameras will use low-intensity fluorescent dyes under conditions associated with heart failure, ischemia, fibrillation, and other pathological circumstances. The multimodal imaging system will be a less invasive instrumental tool to help scientists discover and test safe and effective ways to prevent or treat arrhythmias.
Support is also being provided by the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE), the American Heart Association, and the Simons Center for Systems Biology at the Institute for Advanced Study. John P. Wikswo, PhD, Professor and VIIBRE Director said, “The dual camera system opens up a new window for correlating metabolic and electrophysiological events which are usually studied independently.”
In another project involving a new medical device, Oregon Health & Science University’s hospital is the first hospital in the state to implant the HeartMate II, a new Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) to dramatically improve survival and quality of life in patients with end-stage heart failure.
The HeartMate II is the first LVAD to have a rotor, rather than a pump, and works by providing a constant flow of blood to the body. The device only has one moving part, making it more durable and longer lasting for up to 10 years than previous LVADs. The device is about the size of a cell phone making it one of the first mechanical devices ideally suited for women and others with smaller chest cavities who previously had limited options.
In another part of the country, the Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala Florida is treating patients experiencing sudden cardiac arrest with hypothermia therapy. The program the first in the region to use the non-invasive technology was developed in partnership with the Marion County Fire Rescue and Ocala Fire Rescue departments.
Currently in the U.S., a patient has a 3 to 6 percent chance of return of spontaneous circulation after suffering a cardiac arrest but through the efforts of the rescue units and community hospitals, the rate has improved to 13 to18 percent which is three time the state and national average.
The device called the “Arctic Sun” is a cutting-edge device that cools the body to around 91 degrees Fahrenheit causing mild hypothermia to slow down brain activity. Lowering the body temperature in this way decreases the amount of oxygen the brain uses and at the same time, protects the brain and limits permanent brain damage.
The American Heart Association recommends inducing moderate cooling of the body within six hours after cardiac arrest and sustaining that temperature to be followed by gradual warming has been found to increase the patient’s chances to survive with improved neurological function. It is best if the emergency departments, intensive care units, and physicians work together to coordinate the cooling process.
State Research on the Rise
Now it is going to be easier for patients who want to participate in potentially life-saving clinical research trials in South Carolina to find it easier to do thanks to a $4.8 million NIH grant awarded to the University of South Carolina’s Center for Healthcare Quality.
Dr. Jay Moskowitz, President and CEO of Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC), the grant’s principal investigator, reports that with the grant award, patients will soon be able to find clinical trials at HSSC partner organizations, provide informed consent, protect their privacy, and receive notifications of future trials related to their condition. They will also have the option of donating discarded tissue samples to research studies.
In another effort to produce more effective research, the Center for Healthcare Quality’s Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE) was established with state funds. In addition, there was a private match from HSSC and by The Duke Endowment. The CoEE authorizes the state’s three public research institutions, Clemson University, Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina to do research that will lead to commercialization.
CoEE’s goal is to develop technology-based tools, to help people prevent and manage chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, musculoskeletal problems, and the loss of function with aging.
The hope is that research will result in marketable products such as new communications technologies with additional applications for individuals that will result in new concepts for worksites and health systems. Secondly, the products need to include software and information systems for cell phones, smart phones, iPod technologies, and computerized kiosks. Thirdly, the results of the research could help attract new software development, lifestyle coaching, and computer hardware companies to the state with the result that start-up companies would develop based these technologies.
Right now CoEE is soliciting proposals suitable for small seed grant awards to do healthcare associated infection research. Research must show linkages with the HSSC Strategic Plan 2008-11 and the 2009 HHS Research Action Plan for HAIs.
For more information on the small seed grants, email Janet Craig, DHA, RN at janetc@clemson.edu or call (864) 422-8302. Proposals may be submitted at any time during the 2009-2010 fiscal years.
Dr. Jay Moskowitz, President and CEO of Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC), the grant’s principal investigator, reports that with the grant award, patients will soon be able to find clinical trials at HSSC partner organizations, provide informed consent, protect their privacy, and receive notifications of future trials related to their condition. They will also have the option of donating discarded tissue samples to research studies.
In another effort to produce more effective research, the Center for Healthcare Quality’s Center of Economic Excellence (CoEE) was established with state funds. In addition, there was a private match from HSSC and by The Duke Endowment. The CoEE authorizes the state’s three public research institutions, Clemson University, Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina to do research that will lead to commercialization.
CoEE’s goal is to develop technology-based tools, to help people prevent and manage chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, musculoskeletal problems, and the loss of function with aging.
The hope is that research will result in marketable products such as new communications technologies with additional applications for individuals that will result in new concepts for worksites and health systems. Secondly, the products need to include software and information systems for cell phones, smart phones, iPod technologies, and computerized kiosks. Thirdly, the results of the research could help attract new software development, lifestyle coaching, and computer hardware companies to the state with the result that start-up companies would develop based these technologies.
Right now CoEE is soliciting proposals suitable for small seed grant awards to do healthcare associated infection research. Research must show linkages with the HSSC Strategic Plan 2008-11 and the 2009 HHS Research Action Plan for HAIs.
For more information on the small seed grants, email Janet Craig, DHA, RN at janetc@clemson.edu or call (864) 422-8302. Proposals may be submitted at any time during the 2009-2010 fiscal years.
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