Blueprint MedTech Awardees
NIH’s Blueprint MedTech program has issued 26 Optimizer project awards over five competition cycles. These awards total over $68M. These projects will be administered by the two Blueprint MedTech Incubator Hubs—Cimit’s Center for Innovative NeuroTech Advancement (CINTA) and NeuroTech Harbor (NTH).
Blueprint MedTech has also extended Seedling awards to 58 innovators whose applications demonstrated exceptional merit. Each Seedling awardee receives six months of dedicated support, including a combined $50,000 award with a stipend and managed engagements with subject matter experts in our BPMT network, along with $50,000 in in-kind resources such as mentoring, regulatory consulting, and commercialization training—all focused on addressing key milestones on the path to market.
In addition, Blueprint MedTech supports Translator project awards funded through UG3/UH3 and U44 cooperative agreement mechanisms following NIH peer review. The first ten Translator awards are listed below.
Blueprint MedTech Cycle 1 Optimizer awardees:
For additional details on the Optimizer awards, please see this NIBIB Science Highlight.
| Awardee Institution | Optimizer Project Title | Funding NIH Institute(s) |
| University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, San Diego; and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore | MonOs | NIDA |
| NeuraStasis, Inc., Houston* | Development/Testing of BlueStem Dual Nerve Stimulation Device for Ischemic Stroke | NINDS |
| University of Arizona, Tucson* | External focused ultrasound modulation of the dorsal root ganglia | NIDA and NINDS |
| Endovascular Horizons and University of California San Francisco | Embodrain technology for chronic subdural hematomas | NINDS |
| Boston University and Harvard University, Boston* | reNeu propulsion rehabilitation platform for gait restoration after neurological disease | NICHD/National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR), and NINDS |
| Northern Arizona University and Biomotum, Inc., Flagstaff | A wearable rehabilitation robot for children to use at home | NINDS |
| Openwater, Inc., San Francisco | Wearable noninvasive, transcranial focused ultrasound neuromodulation with near-infrared optical neuromonitoring | BRAIN Initiative |
| SecondWave Systems, Inc., Minneapolis | Treatment of Facial Pain using an Injectable Ultrasonically Powered Neurostimulator | NIDCR |
| Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus | At-home, closed-loop vagus nerve stimulation system to restore hand function in individuals with stroke | NINDS |
*participant in the 2022 Blueprint MedTech pilot
Blueprint MedTech Cycle 2 Optimizer awardees: NIH’s Blueprint MedTech program has announced its Cycle 2 Optimizer project awards. These projects will be supported by the program’s two Incubator Hubs: CIMIT’s Center for Innovative NeuroTech Advancement (CINTA) and NeuroTech Harbor (NTH).
For additional details on the Cycle 2 Optimizer awards, please see this NIBIB Science Highlight.
| Awardee Institution | Optimizer Project Title | Funding NIH Institute(s) |
| Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore | Continuous intrapartum fetal brain monitoring using a wearable ultrasound/photoacoustic device | NINDS |
| Blackrock Neurotech, Salt Lake City | Subcutaneous Intersectional Electrical Stimulation (SIES) for Seizure | NINDS |
| Aneuvas Technologies, Flagstaff, AZ | Balloon-Stent Device for Minimally-Invasive Temporary Aneurysm Occlusion and Embolization | NINDS |
| University of Pittsburgh, PA | VentriculoAmniotic Shunting for Fetal Aqueductal Stenosis | NINDS |
| Stanford University, CA | A single-cell and cell-type resolution artificial retina for vision restoration | NEI |
| Washington University in St. Louis, MO | Modular Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface System for Treating Chronic Neuropathic Pain | HEAL Initiative |
Blueprint MedTech Cycle 3 – 5 Optimizer awardees:
For additional details on the Optimizer awards, please see this NIBIB Science Highlight.
| Awardee Institution | Optimizer Project Title | Funding NIH Institute(s) |
| Neurava | A ML-based SUDEP risk stratification algorithm based on seizure and cardiorespiratory activity recorded from a novel wearable system | NINDS |
| Arizona State University* | Wireless, injectable neurostimulators (WINS) for treating chronic migraine (CM) | HEAL Initiative |
| Motif Neurotech* | Minimally invasive implants for treatment-resistant depression | BRAIN Initiative |
| MicroLeads | MANTA: A Self-Expandable, Injectable Bioelectronic for Chronic Knee Pain | HEAL Initiative |
| CraniUS | CraniUS NeuroPASS | NINDS |
| MuscleMetrix* | Magnetomicrometry | NIHCD/NCMRR, NINDS |
| Neurologic Solutions | Implantable Ultrasound Transducer for Remote Spinal Cord Injury Monitoring | NINDS |
| AutonomUS* | Reducing Opioid Use after Total Knee Replacement through Semi-automated AI-Enabled Ultrasound-Guided Robotic Adductor Canal Nerve Block | HEAL Initiative |
| Craniosense* | Development and clinical evaluation of a novel non-invasive intracranial pressure assessment and monitoring device | NINDS |
| HEPIUS Lab* | Implantable Ultrasound Transducer for Remote Spinal Cord Injury Monitoring | NINDS |
| CoolSpine* | Intrathecal Cooling Catheter to Provide Neuroprotection to Avoid Paraplegia resulting from Open and Endovascular Thoracic Aneurysm Repair | NINDS |
* is a graduate of the BPMT Seedlings Program (see descriptions from the Neurotech Harbor web page)
Blueprint MedTech Cycle 1 Seedling awardees (see descriptions from the Neurotech Harbor web page):
| Awardee Institution | Seedling Project Title | Funding NIH Institute(s) |
| UCSF, San Francisco | An Implantable Closed-Loop Neuromodulation Device for Neuropsychiatric Disorders | BRAIN Initiative |
| Lundquist Institute, Los Angeles | Endovascular Electrode Device for Transvenous Electroencephalography | BRAIN Initiative |
| Johns Hopkins University, Maryland | Photoacoustic Retinal Prosthesis | NEI |
| Asayena, Inc., La Jolla | Neuromodulation Device for Restoration of Motor Function | NICHD/NCMRR |
| MIT, Cambridge | Magnetomicrometry | NICHD/NCMRR, NINDS |
| Motif Neurotech, Inc., Houston | Minimally Invasive Implants for Treatment-Resistant Depression | BRAIN Initiative |
| UNandUP, LLC, St.Louis | Magneto-Thrombolysis to Improve Acute Ischemic Stroke Care | NINDS |
| JUAD Neurotech, Irvine | Minimally Invasive Device for Epilepsy Surgery | NINDS, BRAIN Initiative |
| Longeviti Neuro Solutions, Baltimore | Monitoring GBM Through Implantable Ultrasound Transducer | NINDS |
| Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore | A Non-Invasive Imaging Device to Modernize Treatment of Peripheral Nerve Injuries | NINDS |
| FemiStim, Gainesville Florida | FemiStim, the Sexual Health Neurostimulator for Victims of Female Genital Mutilation | NINDS |
| Arizona State University, Phoenix | Wireless, Injectable Neurostimulators (WINS) for Treating Chronic Migraine (CM) | NINDS |
| University of Utah, Salt Lake City | Drug Delivering Nervewrap for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration | NINDS |
| Neuroview Technology, Inc., Englewood, New Jersey | Subgaleal Hyper-chronic EEG Monitoring Platform | NINDS |
| Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore | Development of a Smart Cerebrospinal Fluid Management Implant in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury | NINDS |
| Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore | Implantable Ultrasound Transducer for Remote Spinal Cord Injury Monitoring | NINDS |
| MacHouse Designs, LLC, Loveland, Colorado | In vivo Visualization of Peripheral Nerves Using Novel CT Contrast Agents | NIDCR |
Blueprint MedTech Cycle 2 Seedling awardees (see descriptions from the Neurotech Harbor web page):
| Awardee Institution | Seedling Project Title | Funding NIH Institute(s) |
| Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA | Point-of-care Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulator for Treating Chronic Pain | NIDA |
| Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH | ForeVR: Biofeedback-Based Virtual Reality to Treat Pain in Children and Adolescents | NIDA |
| AutonomUS Medical Technologies, Inc., Boston, MA | Reducing Opioid Use after Total Knee Replacement through Semi-automated AI-Enabled Ultrasound-Guided Robotic Adductor Canal Nerve Block | NIDA |
| FavFacture LLC, Baltimore, MD | Disruptive Multi-site TMS Tools For improving Impaired Brain Connectivity | NIDA |
| Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ | Prevention of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy with wearable, closed-loop, transcutaneous, diaphragmatic pacemakers | NINDS |
| NeuroNexus Technologies, Inc., Ann Arbor, MI | Novel IV-Like Subgaleal Electrode Device for EEG-Based Brain Monitoring in Critical Illness | NINDS |
| CoolSpine LLC, Woodbury, CT | Intrathecal Cooling Catheter to Provide Neuroprotection to Avoid Paraplegia resulting from Open and Endovascular Thoracic Aneurysm Repair | NINDS |
| FavFacture LLC/ Duke University, Durham, NC | Localization of the Epileptogenic Zone to Improve Outcomes of Epilepsy Surgery | NINDS |
| Thermeutics, LLC, Dallas, TX | Novel neural cooling implant to halt glioblastoma | NINDS |
| Columbia University/ CranioSense, New York, NY | Development and clinical evaluation of a novel non-invasive intracranial pressure assessment and monitoring device | NINDS |
| vizma.ai, Raleigh, NC | PolarEasePro prepares injectable MRI contrasts for molecular imaging | NINDS |
| UpStim LLC, Rochester, MN | UpStim: Cortically-controlled VR-guided Robotic Rehabilitation Enhanced with Spinal Cord Stimulation | NINDS |
| Emboa Medical Inc, West Lafayette, IN | Thrombus Retriever Aspiration Platform (TRAP) for medium vessel occlusion thrombectomy | NINDS |
| Pioneer Neurotech, Inc, Louisville, KY | Long-gap nerve-repair device | NINDS |
| Haystack Diagnostics, Brookline, MA | Gemini Electrodiagnostic System (Gemini EDx) | NINDS |
| Brain Temp Inc, Bryn Mawr, PA | BrainTemp BTneo Brain Temperature Monitoring System | NINDS |
| University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI | PAIM (Personalized Automated Intelligent Management) – Effectively Addressing Chronic Pain Assessment | NINDS |
| Teliatry Inc, Richardson, TX | Implantable NIRS Sensor: Optical monitoring of Spinal cord injury (SCI) | NINDS |
| The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX | A wearable soft fabric sensing device for detecting and monitoring dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease | NICHD/NCMRR |
| Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA | Local delivery of high concentrations of minocycline from a biomaterial-based drug delivery system to promote neuroprotection & functional recovery after spinal cord injury | NINDS |
| University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA | Innovative Sight Recovery: Non-Invasive Ultrasound Retinal Stimulation | NEI |
| UCSF, San Francisco, CA | An Automated Process for Optimizing and Predicting Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain | HEAL Initiative |
Blueprint MedTech Cycle 3 Seedling awardees:
| Awardee Institution | Optimizer Project Title | Funding NIH Institute(s) |
| Stanford University | Ultrasonic glymphatic induction to treat subarachnoid hemorrhage | NINDS |
| AiM Medical Robotics Inc | MRI-Compatible Robotic Stereotactic Frame for Direct MR Image-Guided Neurostimulator Lead Placement | NINDS |
| University of Houston | MyoStep | NINDS |
| Weill Cornell Medicine | Cognitive Signals | NINDS |
| Neuralenz (Cornell Tech Startup) | Neuralenz Continuous and Noninvasive Cerebral Blood Flow Monitor | NINDS |
| BrainStem Biometrics Inc. | Wearable Brainstem Function Monitor to Evaluate Progression of TBI | NINDS |
| University of Arkansas – Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research | A Modular Sensory Neuroprosthetic System to Improve Mobility and Stability Following Lower-Limb Amputation | NINDS |
| Exact Neuro LLC | Exact Neuro (EN) NP1 implantable electrical stimulator | NINDS |
| West Virginia University | Ultra-prosthetics for closed-loop control of articulated powered limbs | NCMRR |
| CF Neuromedics Inc. | The SmartStim device to “cure” chronic pain | NINDS |
| UNC (Biomedical Engineering) | Real-time levodopa monitor | NINDS |
| PneumoNIX Medical | PreVENT Pain (NIH HEAL Initiative) | NINDS |
| George Mason University | Sonomyographic Upper Limb Prosthetics | NCMRR |
| Limax Biosciences, Inc. | DuraMax | NINDS |
| North Carolina State Uni, MyoMech, Inc., and Human in Motion Robotics | Wearable Stimulation and Sensing System for Muscle Aware Hybrid Exoskeleton Assistance | NCMRR |
| Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine & Applied Physics Laboratory, and Longeviti Neuro Solutions, LLC | ePACStim: A Phase-Dependent Neuromodulation Device for Treating Parkinson’s Disease | NINDS |
| Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope | ReMiDe | NINDS |
| Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine | Reducing opioid use disorder through anesthetic sutures for post-operative pain management | NINDS |
| Rilento Pharma, LLC | OSPM3: Opioid-free implantable hemostatic pain management system after oral surgery | NINDS |
BPMT Translator Awards:
The Blueprint MedTech program also has Translator Cooperative Agreement awards, Blueprint MedTech Translator (UG3/UH3 – Clinical Trial Optional), PAR-21-315 and Blueprint MedTech: Small Business Translator (U44 – Clinical Trial Optional), PAR-21-282. The following awards have been made in these programs to date:
- U44 DA059380-01 John Konsin, PI, Prapela, Inc.
- Prapela® SVS incubator pad: A cost-effective stochastic vibrotactile device to improve the clinical course of infants with apnea of prematurity
- U44 NS136026-01A1 (BRAIN NOSI) Haidong Peng, PI, Neuro42, Inc.
- Portable Intraoperative MRI for Neurosurgery
- UG3 NS130338-01A1 Richard Webb, PI, Rhaeos, Inc.
- Development of wireless, wearable flow sensors for continuous, long-term tracking of cerebrospinal fluid dynamics in patients with hydrocephalus
- UG3 NS135551-01 (HEAL NOSI) Charles Caskey, PI, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Translating an MR-guided focused ultrasound system for first-in-human precision neuromodulation of pain circuits
- U44 DA060264-01 Xiaofeng Xia, PI, Instanosis, Inc.
- Addressing Emerging Drug Threats with InstaStrip Rapid Tests
- U44 DA059627-01 Patrik Schmidle, PI, Cari Health, Inc.
- Methadone Dosing System (MDS)
- U44 DA061027-01 Ashkan Vaziri, PI, Biosensics, LLC.
- ODAlert: Wearable Device for Automatic Detection of Opioid-Induced Respiratory Arrest
- UG3 NS140971 Thomas Abell, Uni of Louisville
- Gastric Electrical Stimulation for Pain in Gastroparesis
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UG3 NS137282 Lee Fisher, Uni of Pittsburgh
- A fully-implanted spinal cord stimulation system to restore sensation and relieve phantom limb pain after lower-limb amputation
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UG3 NS137364 Brett Youngerman, Columbia Uni Health Sciences
- NeuroFlex: Wireless, Mechanically Flexible, Stimulation-Capable Depth and Surface High-Density Microelectrode Arrays for Epilepsy