FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Columbia, MD (July 1, 2014)—Vasoptic Medical, Inc. (VMI), a Maryland-based medical device company, announced today that they have been awarded a two-year Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant totaling more than $650,000 from the National Institute On Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This grant will further development of Vasoptic Medical’s vascular imaging technology, specifically for telehealth applications. Telehealth technologies allow healthcare providers to deliver medical care remotely.
The company’s technology will be used for the rapid and inexpensive assessment of the functional state of the retina, which can lead to timely detection of information pertaining to health and disease conditions. VMI’s initial focus is on enabling primary care providers and healthcare retailers to perform routine eye exams in their diabetic patient population for early detection of diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that affects nearly 1 in 3 diabetic patients and, if unmanaged, leads to severe vision impairment and blindness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 29 million individuals in the United States with diabetes.
“We are honored to receive this grant award from the NIH,” said M. Jason Brooke, CEO of Vasoptic Medical. “These funds are crucial to our efforts to develop and commercialize our technology, so we can bring diagnostic screening and timely intervention one critical step closer to the millions of diabetics who lack convenient access to eye exams that are essential for preserving eyesight.”
This NIH award will support VMI in advancing its core technology to a clinic-ready device that can be used in telehealth settings and enable longitudinal clinical trials. “The research supported by this grant has the potential to dramatically change the way we diagnose, monitor, and manage a variety of diseases that affect the aging population, particularly those with restricted mobility,” said Dr. Abhishek Rege, President and CTO of Vasoptic Medical. “We will be working with Nitish Thakor, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. We are excited to continue our collaborative relationship with The Johns Hopkins University in pursuit of this cutting-edge research.”
In hearing of today’s announcement involving a Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship (MCE) resident firm, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said, “This award is further evidence of the tremendous work being done at the MCE to identify and support entrepreneurs who are using technology to improve the world we live in. I’m extremely proud of the team at Vasoptic and look forward to their technology being fully developed.”
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About Vasoptic Medical, Inc.
Vasoptic Medical, Inc. is an early-stage, medical device company with a mission to advance healthcare through innovation in medical diagnostics. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Vasoptic Medical is committed to creating and delivering value to the patient and the healthcare system.
NIH Research Support Statement
Research associated with this publication is supported by the National Institute On Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43AG048758. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
For more information, please visit www.VasopticMedical.com or contact:
Jason Brooke, MSE, JD
CEO and General Counsel
Tel: 410.730.1896