BioElectronic Medicine (BEM)
Request for Information

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• Overview
• Research Needs
• Submission Guidelines
• Timetable and Deadlines

Overview

The Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) is announcing a request for information (RFI) to seek concepts for research topics associated with BioElectronic Medicine (BEM), including but not limited to neuromodulation, and other electronic therapies targeting diabetes, pain management, movement disorders (epilepsy, Parkinson’s), and incontinence.  This is a request for information only and SRC is not currently accepting proposals on this topic.

Research Needs

SRC has been working in this field for several years and has run workshops to produce a BEM roadmap.  This roadmap is the product of a two-year collaboration between industry, government, and academia where each shared their views to create a unique roadmap representing the opportunities and challenges in the field.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions are limited to three (3) typed pages using 12-inch Calibri font within an 8.5 x 11 inches page size.  Submissions may be submitted from industry, academia, or government, may come from any country, and are due by 5:00 PM EDT on November 9, 2020. Although submissions will be read only by SRC staff, we request that no confidential information be included in the RFI responses. 

A grand societal and technology challenge as the population grows and ages is to sustain and improve the quality of life for the 7.6 billion people on Earth. Domestically, healthcare accounts for about 20% of gross domestic product (GDP), or more than $3.6 trillion U.S. dollars annually, and is projected to grow to $6 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027.

Innovation explosions occur at the intersection of scientific disciplines. It has become increasingly clear that the intersection of information processing with our understanding of biological systems from the molecular level to body scale will be an important area of innovation and growth. Today at this intersection, various information processing approaches to disease treatments through sensory and diagnostic interfaces and therapeutic solutions, such as electrical neuromodulation, are showing great promise.

Bioelectronic Medicine (BEM) can revolutionize how we practice medicine and dramatically improve the outcomes while reducing the cost of healthcare. It employs electrical, magnetic, optical, and ultrasound pulses to affect and modify neurological behavior which in turn impacts body functions as a complement to drug-based interventions.

Building on this foundation, SRC is considering opportunities for creating a funded research program to develop technologies to help solve the problems outlined in the roadmap. The next step is to solicit the community for technical ideas from which we can build an industry-sponsored research program.  These ideas should directly relate to solving the problems outlined in the SRC BEM Roadmap and should not suggest solutions but rather recommend technical topics that could be included in a solicitation.

Questions of specific interests include:

·       Recommendations for research project funding size and duration

·       Recommendations on teaming for multi-university and university-industry collaborations

Timetable and Deadlines

Please direct all questions to BEM.RFI@src.org
 

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