NASA Selects DNA Medicine Institute’s Nanoscale Diagnostics Technology for Phase II SBIR
– Funding Supports Breakthrough Reagent Development for Fingerstick-Based Space and Field Diagnostics –
Cambridge, MA — January 28, 2010 — The DNA Medicine Institute, an innovation-driven biomedical company dedicated to advancing human health, announced today that it has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This award continues NASA’s investment in next-generation nanoscale diagnostics capable of enabling comprehensive health assessments from a fingerstick-sized blood sample.
Under this contract, DMI will continue development of advanced assays to monitor bone density, immune response, cardiovascular health, liver function, and lipid status — expanding the range of actionable health information available in microgravity and other resource-limited environments.
The nanoscale diagnostic platform is engineered to replace large, stationary laboratory instruments with a miniaturized solution deployable in spacecraft, remote field medicine scenarios, humanitarian missions, and emergency settings — anywhere medical insight is essential and infrastructure is limited. This technology will ultimately integrate with DMI’s Universal Blood Sensor platform, designed to convert a hospital’s diagnostic lab into a single, handheld point-of-care device.
“We are honored to continue our collaboration with NASA to advance crew health monitoring for long-duration spaceflight — including missions to the International Space Station and future manned missions beyond low Earth orbit,” said Eugene Y. Chan, M.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of the DNA Medicine Institute. “The support from NASA enables us to push forward technologies that deliver rapid diagnostic capabilities using minimal blood volume and reagents — a breakthrough for medicine in extreme environments.”
This award follows the successful completion of DMI’s Phase I NASA SBIR in 2008, during which the Institute achieved key milestones in nanoscale diagnostic development and validated its technical readiness for expanded application.