HEALTH SCIENCES

The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel is the collaboration between SCRA, the American National Standards Institute, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Booz-Allen-Hamilton, and many other stakeholders from technology and healthcare fields. The U.S. government mandated that federal agencies use standards developed for the Department of Health and Human Services by the panel when sharing healthcare information with public or private organizations.

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SCRA leads a world-class team of medical researchers, air quality and environmental engineers, and practical clinicians researching the effectiveness of copper applications to improve health and wellness. Copper has inherent antimicrobial properties with the potential to limit the spread of infectious diseases and allergens. Studies indicate that copper alloy surfaces are effective antimicrobial agents – killing microorganisms within hours that can survive for a month or more on materials such as stainless steel or aluminum. Unlike chemicals and coatings, copper-alloy surfaces provide continuous, proactive, and permanent antimicrobial protection. The SCRA-led team is applying and evaluating copper touch surfaces in hospital settings.

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SCRA's SCLaunch! program provides start-up assistance through mentoring, funding, training, and networking opportunities to help create and support the commercialization of entrepreneurial life sciences companies, such as:

• SensorTech, LLC – a disruptive, platform based technology commercializing polymers for use in pressure, force and torque measurements applied to the biomedical and industrial field
• Selah - nanotechnology products for the biomedical industry - Selah Dots™, brightly luminescent carbon nanoparticles, and Selah Tubes™, enriched single-walled carbon nanotubes
• DigitalDerm - maker of MoleMapCD®, an easy-to-use imaging product that enables physicians and patients to identify melanoma changes as they occur for early detection
• Argolyn Bioscience - discovering and developing novel peptide drug candidates to treat psychosis, pain, and other serious diseases and disorders
• Immunologix - developing technology that provides the ability to obtain large scale productions of antibodies specific to any condition without exposing patrons to harmful antigens

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Research is underway to study a focused magnetic stimulation technique to treat depression in people who have not responded to drug or electro-convulsive therapy. SCRA supports the network, storage, and computing systems dedicated to taking the daily stream of hundreds of megabytes of images from all of the participating institutions, automatically analyzing the brains, and determining the precise stimulation point and power required.

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An SCRA-led composites consortium applies advanced materials to prosthetics to improve the lives of injured service members. SensorTech, a new company that SCRA helped with early stage funding through its start-up company assistance program, is the maker of a new sensing technology that can accurately measure force, pressure, torque, or impact. The sensors are now being tested in composite prosthetics to monitor socket fit. The result is better fit and increased comfort for prosthetic users.

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The NRC is a national collaboration that combines the scientific, intellectual and organizational strengths of researchers engaged in health-related problems of global importance. The primary focus of the NRC is to foster innovative research initiatives and outreach programs related to human health.

• TRIM – prospective cohort project to study factors underlying the development of obesity in youth. Overall project goals are to develop a complete understanding of the behavioral, environmental, and physiological factors that influence energy balance and the development of body composition during childhood and adolescence.
• CAREER – is designed to comprehensively and accurately track and analyze the overall health status of military personnel from recruitment through retirement and/or throughout the lifespan. Overall project goals are to maintain a healthy and fit fighting troop base, reduce problems that impair readiness, and improve the overall quality of life of service members.

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