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K-State Today

March 1, 2017

Computer science team awarded grant to aid in innovative medical care for the military

Submitted by Mary Rankin

Computer scientists at Kansas State University are partnering with Adventium Labs in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to develop tools for modeling and evaluating the safety and security of a new breed of app-based medical systems.

Funded by a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research award of $999,974 from the U.S. Department of Defense, the tools will help support the U.S. government's vision of providing innovative medical care for soldiers in the field as well as improving healthcare outcomes at lower cost for the general U.S. population.
Heading the research is John Hatcliff, university distinguished professor of computer science, along with Robby, and Eugene Vasserman, computer science professor and associate professor, respectively.

"This project enables K-State researchers to work with innovative medical companies around the world to potentially commercialize technology developed in the College of Engineering over the last eight years," Hatcliff said.

The medical systems addressed in "Methodologies and Tools for Securing Medical Device Systems in Integrated Clinical Environments" allow suites of medical monitoring and therapeutic devices to be flexibly configured and controlled by software apps to target patient needs with greater precision and effectiveness.

"We anticipate the project will establish a commercialization pathway for computer-based modeling tools that will aid companies in assuring the safety and security of novel interoperable medical systems," Hatcliff said. "Such systems will significantly reduce the burden of bringing innovative medical solutions to market."

The U.S. Congress created the Small Business Innovation Research program in 1982. It requires 11 eligible governmental agencies, with extramural research budgets of more than $100 million, to set aside a percentage of their budget to fund domestic small businesses engaging in research and development that has a strong potential for technology commercialization.

The grant process is highly competitive, with only about 15 percent of submitted applications being funded.

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