Space health institute awards $1.5M for medical innovations

The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at Baylor College of Medicine has partnered with Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology (CIMIT) to grant $1.5 million in awards to nine companies researching medical technologies for preserving astronaut health in space exploration.

These nine companies will advance their biomedical research into technologies for predicting and protecting astronaut health. Research topics include lab tests for use in space, multi-parameter health assessment and health surveillance systems, and onboard manufacturing of active ingredients for medication.

“TRISH funds disruptive, high-risk technologies that have the potential to shift paradigms in health,” said Dr. Dorit Donoviel, TRISH director and associate professor at Baylor.

The companies awarded $250,000 accelerator grants are:

PlenOptika, Cambridge, Mass.
Shivang Dave, CEO
Project: Objective refraction with self-operable, lightweight autorefractor

Emerald Innovations Inc., Cambridge, Mass.
Dina Katabi, President
Project: Non-contact sleep, vitals and behavior sensing

Empatica, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.
Matteo Lai, CEO
Project: EmbraceX

VisualDx, Rochester, N.Y.
Arthur Papier, CEO
Project: VisualDx Clinical Decision Support for Ultrasound

The companies awarded $100,000 validation grants are:

Rizlab Health Inc., New York, N.Y.
Mehdi Javanmard, President
Project: The Cytotracker: Point-of-use Complete Blood Count

InnaMed, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.
Anup Singh, Co-founder & Chief Science Officer
Project: InnaMed TeleLab Platform

Ativa Medical, St. Paul, Minn.
Elizabeth Palaima, Principle Scientist
Project: Room Temperature Stable Basic Metabolic Panel

Z3VR, Houston
Josh Ruben, Co-Founder
Project: Project Atlas

Synlife, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.
Felix Moser, Chief Scientific Officer
Project: Cell-free production of pharmaceutical-grade biologics

Partnering with NASA through a cooperative agreement, TRISH funds transformative human health technologies to predict, protect and preserve astronaut physical and mental health during deep-space exploration missions. The institute is a consortium led by Baylor College of Medicine and includes the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Learn more about the Translational Research Institute for Space Health.