Point of Care Technology Research Center in Primary Care

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Primary care providers (PCPs) are tasked with providing increasingly complex care as the population ages and the burden of chronic disease grows. Emerging microfluidic, nanotechnology and sensor miniaturization technologies are making it possible to develop a new generation of Point-of-Care test (POCT) systems for primary care that could improve efficiencies of primary care practices. To meet this critical national need, we propose to create a new center for rapid transformation of emerging point-of-care technologies into commercially viable, clinically-focused solutions for improving primary health care. We intend to leverage and deploy an existing, proven approach to needs-driven health care technology innovation pioneered and validated for more than a decade by the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technologies (CIMIT) - an established consortium of thirteen research institutions, universities and hospitals in the greater Boston area. Our specific aims are: 1) Apply CIMIT's innovation model to create clinically-driven point-of-care solutions that address critical areas of unmet need in primary healthcare areas of unmet need in primary healthcare. 2) Identify and assess unmet primary care needs and develop performance criteria where point-of-care technology solutions would have the highest impact. 3) Select the most promising point-of-care technologies and develop them into proof-of-concept prototypes. 4) Test and evaluate prototype performance in simulated clinical environments and clinical "living laboratories" relative to clinical performance and implementation criteria. 5) Transition prototypes that meet performance specifications into commercially licensable or start-up company opportunities. 6) Train and educate relevant stakeholders - including clinicians, engineers, scientists, students and industry partners - in the innovation process as it applies to meeting health care needs.. 7) Disseminate "lessons learned" and best practices in innovation methodology and process both nationally and internationally in collaboration with other POCTRN Centers.