About NIH Blueprint MedTech

 
The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is a collaborative framework through which 14 NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices jointly support neuroscience-related research, with the aim of accelerating discoveries and reducing the burden of nervous system disorders (for further information, see the Blueprint MedTech website).

Innovators developing groundbreaking medical device technologies face a number of challenges along the translational path from bench to bedside. The Blueprint MedTech program is an NIH incubator that aims to address such challenges and support the innovators by accelerating the development of cutting-edge medical devices to diagnose and/or treat disorders of the nervous system. The mission of the program is to catalyze the translation of novel neurotechnologies from early-stage development to first-in-human clinical studies. Starting in late 2022, the program will provide: (a) non-dilutive funds to support medical device development activities led by investigators, and (b) additional resources and support services including, but not limited to:

• Planning resources to support concept development, team building, needs assessment, and other early translational activities.
• Assistance from consultants (e.g., on regulatory, reimbursement, intellectual property, commercialization, and strategic partnership issues).
• Advice from industry experts (e.g., meetings with an external oversight committee).

The overarching goal of the Blueprint MedTech program is to accelerate patient access to groundbreaking, safe, and effective medical devices. The program will provide support to sufficiently develop and de-risk technologies to the point where additional investments are warranted from industry partners, investors, and government.

The Blueprint MedTech Pilot is a “soft launch” of the MedTech program, and provides only a limited subset of the above resources. Additional funding announcements will be posted on the Blueprint MedTech website.

 
About CIMIT

 
Founded in 1998, the Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology (CIMIT) is a non-profit consortium of Boston’s leading teaching hospitals and universities with strategic international affiliations and government partnerships. The mission of CIMIT is to accelerate the healthcare innovation cycle by facilitating collaboration among experts through the development and implementation of novel solutions to improve patient care.

 
About the POCTRN Center at CIMIT

 
Funded since 2012 by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN), CIMIT has created a national “center-without-walls” for rapid transformation of emerging technologies into commercially viable, clinically focused solutions for improving health care.