Rayonix, LLC wins $4,993,878 Grant

InteliSpark client Rayonix LLC has been awarded a grant worth $4,993,878 from the Department of Energy for their project, “Development and Commercialization of Novel Two-Color X-ray Photon Counting Pixel Array Detector”. With this project, Rayonix hopes to advance scientific and technological fields such as nanoscale devices, solar energy conversion, and energy storage materials.

New and advanced synchrotron X-ray beamlines and sources are currently being constructed worldwide. Along with the upgrades, these facilities require fast new X-ray detectors to complement and foster new scientific applications. New detector capabilities are needed for the study of fast material and molecular kinetics, in the intense domain for keeping up with brighter X-ray sources, and in the energy discrimination domain for combining area detection with new energy resolution techniques. In this Phase II project, Rayonix will focus on developing and commercializing a fast new hybrid pixel array detector for use in materials science experiments at these facilities.

The novelty of Rayonix’s detector is its ability to record two simultaneous X-ray images at different colors or sample times. It also has the ability to accurately measure more intense X-rays than previously possible. In Phase I, Rayonix developed a prototype X-ray detector with dual imaging. With this phase II award, they will develop a larger-sized X-ray detector, that will be designed and built in three stages, each stage being bench tested and characterized with X-rays. Rayonix also will invite outside scientists to perform synchrotron experiments in real-world pump-probe experiments, to prove the user-friendliness and commercialization potential of their product.

InteliSpark has an open position for an Entry-Level Proposal Development Coordinator

Position: Proposal Development Coordinator

Hours Per Week: Full-Time

Pay: BOE, salary

Position Overview: The primary role for this position is to provide support for the InteliSpark, LLC  team and clients in proposal development and submission. The position is well suited for a new or recent graduate.  Specific activities include:

• Populating federal contract and grant application forms for agencies including NIH, NSF, DoD, DoE, and others

• Tracking application status and required documents

• Composition of short technical documents, including commercialization documents

• Communicating with clients for company onboarding and government registrations

• Additional support activities

Qualifications: Applicants must meet the following specifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business-related field or equivalent experience in grant management and writing

• Proficiency in communication, written and oral, skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite (e.g., Word, Excel), Adobe Acrobat, Outlook

• Ability to provide attention to detail

• Ability to work independently and demonstrate self-management

       Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with EndNote and Google Spreadsheets

• Experience with project management

• Previous experience with federal contract and grant applications to agencies including: NIH, NSF, DoD, DoE, and others

About the Company: InteliSpark, LLC is a hands-on business development consulting firm specializing in securing non-dilutive funding for start-ups through the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), and other government research funding programs.  We work with start-ups, universities, venture capital firms and economic development programs to match small innovative companies and technologies with funding opportunities. Using our proven track record of creating winning SBIR/STTR proposals, we turn those opportunities into realities. 

To Apply: Please send resume and cover letter to Kirk Macolini at kirk@intelispark.com

Advanced Test Engineering (ATE) Solutions, Inc. wins Phase II SBIR Grant

InteliSpark client Advanced Test Engineering (ATE) Solutions, Inc. has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant worth $750,000. The grant is for the SBIR project “Advanced High-Speed Bus Technologies for Unit Under Test and Evaluation."  The goal of the SBIR project is to develop innovative test methods and associated tools required to support the advanced testing requirements of emerging high-speed bus technologies that are required for design-for-test as well as operational testing for the first two phases with an optional third year.

Current state-of-the-art test tools handle conventional data buses, but cannot address the testing needs of new, high speed, data buses that are being incorporated in the latest aircraft enhancements. Next-generation Units Under Test (UUTs) are designed with high-throughput buses ranging from 100 Mbps to 1500 Mbps, and utilize various new data buses (e.g. Firewire, RS-422, Wi-Fi, SATA, SMPTE Video). This drives a need for faster digital communication buses in Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) to facilitate testing, file upload and download, and other UUT interactions.

The methods and tools developed will aid in the support of state-of-the-art bus technologies in the fleet, and also ensure the integrity, quality, and reliability of the signals and data communication associated with the buses. This effort should leverage the current Navy Automatic Test System (ATS) environments, and industry standards to support electronics maintenance.

High speed data buses are a new technology being introduced into Navy avionics, as well as electronic equipment in other Services. Solutions to fully test this new technology are required for Navy ATS. The technologies required will have a direct impact on testing associated with both design and operation of Units Under Test (UUTs) employing high speed communication interfacing and busing. This is evident in the need for standards in the DoD ATS Framework Integrated Product Team (IPT)’s key element UUT Device Interfaces (UDI). The UDI element recognizes the requirements for testing complex forms of data communication and requires industry standards to ensure an open architecture approach is integrated in the resulting technologies. These technologies involve extremely high-speed data rates, complex timing and synchronization, and high-speed multiplexing, all of which require parameters that are capable of insuring signal integrity. Some of these parameters involve statistical measurements, bit error rates, and complex signal to noise and distortion measurements. Current and conventional test methods are not capable of achieving the degree of testing quality necessary to ensure the proper performance of these UUTs and maintaining the data integrity for high speed net-centric information exchanges.

In order to ensure consistency of approaches and tools, industry standards related to signals associated with advanced bussing should be considered, such as the Automatic Test Markup Language (IEEE-1671, ATML). In working with the current industry standards, deficiencies might be found. In this case, the effort would involve identifying/suggesting new standards, and/or modifications to existing standards, which would help ensure a consistent, open system, approach across DoD systems.

To achieve these objectives, a set of tools are required that employ standardized technologies associated with digital radio, wireless communication, switching, fiber optics, and networking, which are being employed in existing as well as new UUTs. These tools should encompass industry standard signal libraries (such as IEEE-1641), test descriptions describing parameterized test methods, and performance verification for communication with devices that have highly complex inputs and outputs. The tools need to configure test instrumentation such as waveform generators, digitizers, oscillators, up and down converters, bus analyzers, and high speed digital generators to support the development of the signals / methods required. These test and evaluation tools are expected to significantly reduce the test cost and foot print of support items, and enhance Test Program Set (TPS) rehost.

Luminostics, Inc. awarded Phase II SBIR Grant

InteliSpark client Luminostics, Inc. has been awarded a phase II grant of $761,788 by the National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) for the project “a smartphone-based point-of-care test for detection of chlamydia trachomatis”.

Luminostics has developed an FDA-cleared and CE-marked smartphone-based screening test for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infections in women, for over-the-counter and point-of-care settings. There are almost 3 million new cases of CT in the U.S. each year, making it the most common bacterial cause of sexually transmitted infections. Though Chlamydia infections are curable with just one pill, 90% of those infected are asymptomatic. If untreated, Chlamydia can cause severe health problems including infertility.

There is a clear necessity of creating testing methods that provide accurate screening results. Current tests are expensive and have slow turnaround times, which consequently severely limits the applicability for expanding testing coverage. Point-of-care tests are more rapid and enable same-day “test and treat” approaches, yet, there is a large number of at-risk women who do not seek testing due to embarrassment/confidentiality concerns.

Luminostics’ innovative product, CLIP-CT, is a screening test designed for both at-home users and point-of-care physicians/healthcare providers. It provides rapid results by incorporating a case-like smartphone adapter and a mobile app to result readout and analysis using the phone’s flash and camera. The results will provide an unambiguous “positive” or “negative”, by using non-invasive samples, in less than 30 minutes.

With their awarded grant, Luminostics will now be able to develop the hardware and software components of the product, perform comprehensive and analytical performance studies, a human factors validation study, and conduct a large clinical study.

ArchieMD, Inc. wins SBIR Phase I Grant

InteliSpark client ArchieMD Inc. has been awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant totaling $149,930. The Phase I grant was for the project, “Synthetic task Environment for Patient Preparation and Care in an A2/AD Operations”. The goal is to provide a training simulation that will enable medics to conduct evacuation operations within an aeromedical aircraft.

ArchieMD’s research project is in efforts to create a realistic, immersive 3-D environment for training purposes. The focus of this training is for care personnel in primary/secondary assessment, patient stabilization, patient placement, and mission management. The simulation, named EVAC Sim, will allow for medic rehearsal opportunities for evacuation patient care scenarios. It will provide experiences for trainees to understand the resources available in an aeromedical aircraft, and with greater confidence and competence. Additionally, there is potential to cultivate this technology to ultimately contribute a valuable, new dimension to medical simulation training and medical education at large.

Vishwa Robotics wins Phase I SBIR Grant

InteliSpark client Vishwa Robotics has been awarded a $149,999 SBIR Phase I grant for their project, “Vishwa Space Debris Engagement and Deorbiting System”. This project will focus on developing a miniature space craft to engage with tumbling Spent Rocket Bodies (SRB) and stabilize them, and also perform a controlled deorbiting maneuver.

SRBs are from decades of the launching of satellites into Earth’s orbit. They are also the largest component of space debris by mass. This poses a significant problem to the present and future operation of space systems into certain orbits. A majority of these objects will remain place for several more decades, before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and eventually burning up. Current concepts for mitigating the debris and de-orbiting space junk have included attaching propulsion modules, electrodynamic tethers, and drag enhancement devices such as sails and balloons. However, there is need for a long-term reduction in the number of large SRBs in low earth orbits. Especially focused for near-polar and sun synchronous orbits in efforts to help preserve and extend the effective use of space.

Vishwa Robotics’ proposal addresses these interests and concerns. With the SBIR Phase I Grant, they will now be able to start work on developing technology for a novel, low cost, use and lose, miniature space craft. This miniature space craft will engage with a tumbling SRB, then stabilize it, and perform a controlled deorbiting maneuver without the use of any eternal tether or power source like solar panels, RTGs, ect. The only necessary component will be a small battery.

Enable Biosciences, Inc. wins Phase II SBIR Grant

InteliSpark client Enable Biosciences, Inc. has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant totaling $750,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Their project “development of an ultrasensitive, high-throughput autoantibody discovery platform using agglutination-PCR” will provide work towards developing a platform technology for detecting autoantibody markers for research and clinical diagnostics.

Currently, precision medicine is in need of the development of more powerful bioanalytic technologies to diagnose disease and direct target therapies. Enable Biosciences has developed a platform, the Antibody Detection by Agglutination-PCR (ADAP), that uses a ligation-based DNA barcoding technology for improved antibody detection, with increased analytical sensitivity and multiplex power to detect more at the most clinically useful time. Additionally, their product is able to detect numerous clinically-relevant autoantibodies that are refractory to common techniques like ELISA. Current technologies scale poorly due to cross-analyte interference, and lack of analytical sensitivity to detect crippling diseases.

This platform holds the potential of accelerating the development of lifesaving diagnostics in a variety of human diseases. In the Phase II project, Enable Biosciences will develop the first solution-phase, ultrasensitive, and multiplex antibody assay platform for early detection, monitoring, and treatment of human diseases. Enable Biosciences will now be able to validate the multiplex ADAP assay for clinical diagnostics, high-throughput automation of the multiplex ADAP assay technology for clinical diagnostics, manufacture and establish quality control standards, and demonstrate the applicability of the platform for a broader set of antibodies.

Selfarray wins SBIR Phase II Grant

InteliSpark client, Selfarray has been granted a $740,027 SBIR Phase II grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the project “diamagnetically directed self-assembly of light emitting diodes for fabricating large area, direct view displays”. This Phase II project is expected to revolutionize large area LED array assembly manufacturing, and ultimately lead to unprecedented growth of the direct view LED display market.

Direct view LED display, or video walls, are becoming more present every day. They are often seen in sports stadiums, and have now been appearing in retail advertising, cinemas, and control rooms. These displays are brighter, have better contrast rations, faster refresh rates, and are more energy efficient. However, despite the advantages, adoption of these current displays is extremely slow due to the cost and timely manufacturing limitations.

 Selfarray has addressed these manufacturing concerns by proposing a technology utilizing magnetic fields to quickly and simply emplace hundreds or thousands of LEDs into a neat and structured grid-array. They have established an objective of achieving assembly at least 5 times faster than the current technology used. Selfarray will focus research the effects of LED size and geometry on the necessary accuracy, rate, and yield. With the Phase II grant, they will be able to determine a system to more rapidly assemble thousands of LED die with precision for high-resolution displays and determine a fully operational LED display panel constructed with the technology to demonstrate the manufacturing potential.

Wicked Device LLC Wins Phase II $742,000 Grant

InteliSpark client Wicked Device, LLC. has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant worth $742,550 from the National Science Foundation. The grant is for the SBIR project “A STEM toolkit enabling global air quality experiments.” 

Wicked Device, LLC. seeks to develop an internet-of-things (IoT) data collection and analysis platform for collaborative STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and big data research and education, that enables collaborative, geographically dispersed collection of data from internet enabled scientific instruments.

This project fulfills the requests of the federal government and leading-edge STEM educators that both secondary and post-secondary institutions teach science in a way that engages students with real-world problems. The expectation is that this project will make big data accessible, while providing rewarding and appealing hands-on learning opportunities that will increase data literacy; increase scientific collaboration in education across geographic and interdisciplinary lines; and increase scientific literacy and interest across demographics, thus increasing the likelihood that students will continue to pursue scientific careers.

The proposed technology will be the first collaborative educational IoT STEM platform to be developed, and is innovative in the field of Educational Technology, which has yet to adopt web-connected sensors that generate big data on a global scale. Right now, there is no mechanism for schools to collect and share real data between classrooms and schools in an organized way. The proposed innovation allows users to communicate via a global network and is capable of being paired with an unlimited variety of scientific instruments and data sources, to support versatile, engaging, coordinated, multi-school experiments and data sharing.

In Phase 1, feasibility of approach was firmly established. Phase II objectives will be to expand the educational platform developed in Phase I to optimize national/global impact and support applicability to big data research as well as a range of sensors. Goals include to expand tools to view and analyze data, refine and expand curriculum, develop an Application Programming Interface and create software tools to manipulate and share data/curriculum.

Versatope Therapeutics, Inc. wins Phase I SBIR Grant

InteliSpark client Versatope Therapeutics, Inc. has been awarded $225,000 by the National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) for the research project “Universal Influenza Vaccine”. Their project will focus on development of recombinant outer membrane vesicle (rOMV) strains capable of protection against pandemic influenza, with projected advancements for a larger scale.

Versatope is in the works of developing a universal vaccine that addresses the limitations of current pandemic and seasonal flu vaccines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated the current economic impact of seasonal influenza to range from $10 to $16 billion and the pandemic influenza to range from $71.3 to $166.5 billion, in the United States alone. Their research and developments will increase the range of protection and reduce the overall economic impact.

The OMV vaccine delivery is a significant advancement because it has been genetically engineered to detoxify lipopolysaccharide (LPS) more than 100-fold and increase OMV formation more than 30-fold, compared to the current parental strain of pro-biotic bacteria.  The societal impact and commercial opportunity is also displayed by a test of the model, which concluded a 50% reduction in infection, hospitalization and death rates.

They are developing a unique influenza M2e antigen construct, that will be capable of protecting against all strains of influenza. It has already shown significant improvement over the traditional vaccine candidates, with lower reactogenicity and inflammatory responses. Their research will continue to develop new rOMV strains with the capability of protection against influenza, focusing on large scale commercial production.