Notice Number: NOT-EB-17-004

Key Dates
Release Date: June 22, 2017

Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: August 2017
First Estimated Application Due Date: October 2017
Earliest Estimated Award Date: July 2018
Earliest Estimated Start Date: July 2018

Issued by
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Fogarty International Center (FIC)

Purpose

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the Fogarty International Center (FIC) intends to reissue RFA-EB-11-002, Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN), with modifications. POCTRN’s purpose is to drive the development and/or application of appropriate point-of-care technologies through collaborative efforts that merge scientific and technological capabilities with clinical need. The POCTRN Research Centers will create a national research network that works to build expertise in the development and/or application of integrated point-of-care systems that address unmet clinical needs in point-of-care testing through the creation of multidisciplinary partnerships.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

The FOA is expected to be published in Summer 2017 with an expected application due date in Fall 2017.

This FOA will utilize the U54 activity code. Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

This Notice encourages investigators with expertise in NIH Institute/Center area(s) of interest as defined below and insights into developing a pipeline of point-of-care technologies with commercialization potential and implementation, to begin to consider applying for this new FOA.

The FOA will encourage POCTRN Centers that will facilitate: 1) assessment and communication of unmet clinical needs in point-of-care testing; 2) collaborations with physical scientists, computational scientists, and engineers (as well as researchers from other relevant disciplines, as appropriate) on technology development projects; 3) development of external partnerships (e.g., technology, clinical, industry, and regulatory) necessary to move enabling technologies toward clinical applications; 4) clinical testing of prototype point-of-care devices; and 5) creation of training opportunities for technology developers and other stakeholders on clinical issues related to the development of point-of-care devices.

The general interests of the participating NIH Institute organizations are outlined below:

The mission of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. In the area of POC, the NIBIB supports research that enables patient centered health care through the development and application of point-of-care and personal health informatics technologies. NIBIB is interested in supporting centers that could be structured around one or more themes addressing promising technologies, clinical needs, and/or opportunities in specific health settings.

The NHLBI supports the development of technologies to detect, prevent, or treat heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders. It also supports research on the clinical use of blood and all aspects of the management and safety of blood resources. The NHLBI is interested in sponsoring centers that facilitate clinical validation and adoption studies in the clinic and other settings where the point of care testing will be deployed.

The NIA is interested in supporting centers focused on the development and validation of technologies focused on cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The OBSSR is interested in supporting centers to develop and validate technologies to diagnose, monitor, treat, and/or manage modifiable behavioral risk factors underlying chronic conditions.

The NCCIH is interested in supporting centers to develop and validate technologies that assess symptoms commonly treated by the public with complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches or technologies that monitor or enhance these approaches for symptom management, prevention of diseases, and promotion of well-being.

The FIC is interested in supporting centers to develop, validate, and adopt technologies related to HIV/AIDS infection. Technologies studied should be specifically suited for low resource settings and applicable to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs; as defined by the World Bank as low-, lower-middle-, or upper-middle-income economies).

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Tiffani Bailey Lash, PhD
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Telephone: 301-451-4778
Email: baileyti@mail.nih.gov