InteliSpark is now an approved SBIR/STTR service provider for Wisconsin’s Center for Technology Commercialization

We are excited to announce that InteliSpark has recently become approved SBIR/STTR service provider for Wisconsin’s  Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC). The Center for Technology commercialization is a resource for SBIR/STTR funding assistance for small businesses in the state of Wisconsin.

CTC provides the support and guidance necessary for small businesses to bring their innovations to the market. They manage a series of micro-grants on behalf of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. The micro-grants can fund up to $4,500 per micro grant and up to $9,000 per small business.  Eligible Projects include the development of an SBIR/STTR Phase I or Phase II proposal or other federal funding proposal, the development of an SBIR/STTR Phase II Commercialization Plan or a comprehensive business plan and the procurement of a CTC-approved market research study in support of a commercialization or business plan.  Businesses eligible to apply for funding assistance must be starting or expanding a technology-based or research oriented business or a firm located in Wisconsin that relies on the use of technology.

Procedural requirements include contacting the Center for Technology Commercialization (CTC) for intake and an assessment including the creation of a Business Model Canvas with a formal request for a meeting and submitting an online application either for an SBIR/STTR Assistance micro-grant or a Business/Commercialization micro-grant.

ArchieMD wins NIH Phase I SBIR grant

InteliSpark client ArchieMD, Inc. has been awarded a $225,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The award is a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project entitled “An interactive app to promote safe and effective use of opioids in young children postoperatively.”

ArchieMD is a physician-led company that designs educational products for a variety of different audiences within health sciences. The company produces applications with different types of training programs and simulations and 3D simplified concepts with visual explanations making it easier for the audience to understand.  ArchieMD stands apart from its competitors because they evaluate the educational impact of their applications by using content guidance from nationally recognized subject matter experts along with partnering with leading healthcare institutions.

In recent years, there has been increased attention to pain in children and adolescents leading to a rise in the home use of opioid prescriptions. This has also lead to an increase in hospital visits (>21,000) and accidental overdose deaths in children and adolescence. The heart of this epidemic is directly related to parents having little to no training about opioid usage.

Under this SBIR project, ArchieMD will team up with the University of Michigan to develop a smartphone application. It will be designed for parents who have children prescribed to the home use of opioid prescriptions. The app will provide education and tools to help parents with accurate real-time assessments of both pain and analgesic related adverse drug events (AR-ADEs). The goal of the SBIR is to improve analgesic safety and efficiency by improving parent’s analgesic and pain management skills.

Widetronix wins U.S. Army Phase II SBIR contract

InteliSpark client Widetronix has won a $1 million contract from the U.S. Army for the Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project “Radioisotope Power Source for Long-Lived Sensors and Communications.”

Widetronix is an early stage company that was initially created based on technology developed at Cornell University. They are actively working with customers on defense, medical and industrial applications. The company designs and manufactures ultra-low power sensor platforms with lifetimes designed to exceed 25 years. A key factor in Widetronix technology is that they are based on the companies innovative silicon carbide betavoltaics.   Betavoltaics generate electric current through the non-thermal conversion of beta particles to electrical energy, using a similar process to photovoltaics

The project being funded is to commercialize betavoltaic power sources which can last >25 years to extend the operational lifetimes for low-power applications in defense, medical and industrial monitoring applications. Currently, the commercially available power-storage devices / batteries only have a life-span that rarely reaches 10 years.

Lionano wins Phase II SBIR contract from the U.S. Army

InteliSpark client Lionano has been awarded a $859,193 contract from the U.S. Army for the Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project “High Energy Density Materials for Projectile Li-ion Battery.”  Lionano is a battery material manufacturing start-up that has created a drop-in replacement material for lithium-ion batteries. The material will improve capacity, battery life, and recharge faster than any material currently available on the market. Lionano is commercializing battery technology originally developed at Cornell University.

Batteries are critical components in modern military electronics. Advanced energy storage devices such as lithium ion batteries (LIBs) must keep up with the development of military technology that demands batteries with high gravimetric and volumetric energy density, fast charging rates, and reliability over extreme operating conditions. These criteria are driving Lionano’s development of new active battery materials that serve as a drop-in replacement for current LIBs. LIBs created from Lionano's novel cathode material also would revolutionize electric vehicles, consumer electronics and industrial energy storage solutions such as wind/solar, telecom batteries and other areas.

Wicked Device wins Phase I NSF SBIR grant

InteliSpark client Wicked Device, LLC has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant worth $225,000. The grant is for the  SBIR project “A STEM toolkit enabling global air quality experiments.”  This will enable Wicked Device to compete for a NSF Phase II SBIR award worth $750,000.   Wicked Device is an electronic development company based in Ithaca, N.Y. They aim to “inspire and empower, making technological tools available to current and future inventors”.  The SBIR project will adapt Wicked Device’s Air Quality Egg product for the educational market through the development of collaborative educational software. 

The goal of the SBIR is to increase student’s engagement in experiential learning about environmental science. The project will change the scale of student scientific experiments from a local basis to a regional or even global level. By expanding to a regional and global level, it will help students understand the effects of both natural and human events have on air quality – while enabling development of more rigorous scientific thinking.

Under the SBIR project, Wicked Device will create software that allows big data to be available on a global scale. Currently, there is no such software without inaccuracy, failure and difficulty to use. Features of the software will facilitate data-sharing in a global network and include: GIS mapping, continuous logging, time averaging, annotation, and integration with compatible software systems.

This project will allow for a more interactive and creative approach while studying environmental science. By integrating this project in high school and post-secondary school curricula it will increase the likelihood and interest of students to enter a STEM field which will create a more diverse workforce and increase productivity.

Quantified Habits wins Phase I NSF SBIR award

InteliSpark client Quantified Habits has won a National Science Foundation Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant worth $225,000 for the project “Digital Health Coaching Using Context-sensitive Data.” This will enable Quantified Habits to compete for a NSF Phase II SBIR award worth $750,000.  Quantified Habits designs engaging products and experiences that enable users to take control of their health by cultivating repeatable healthy behaviors.

The SBIR project will develop technology to help people to cultivate lifestyle changes. For a lifestyle disease patient, it is very difficult to change lifelong habits to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Hence, compliance with the recommendations of a doctor or coach is a long-standing problem. Several reminder and tracker apps attempt to help with compliance and adoption of healthy lifestyle. Unlike such solutions, the Quanifited Habits approach is unique in its ability to proactively intervene with highly targeted interventions at the right moment, which is when compliance is most likely. Such moments will be captured through the ability of the platform to incorporate context-sensitivity. The platform will understand the context of each patient and will enable the coach to deliver interventional messages at the right moment, thereby increasing the likelihood of compliance and assisting with formation of healthy habits. The platform also provides scalability without significant loss in personalization.