Spark Neuro Inc. — Department of Defense STTR Phase I: AF20C-TCSO1

Description

SPARK Neuro will partner with Mayo Clinic to conduct R&D for automated diagnosis and tracking of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and subconcussive blows using a lightweight, portable EEG kit. This fieldable traumatic brain injury assessment tool will enhance troop readiness through preventative care, brain-health maintenance, and recovery tracking. SPARK Neuro and Mayo Clinic will work together to find an Air Force end-user and customer in need of our technology solution and adapt the solution for the warfighter.  Traumatic brain injuries are a continuous risk to warfighter lethality and sustainability for kinetic units—both on the battlefield and in training environments. Many brain injuries go undiagnosed due to the lack of objective and scalable diagnostic tools, leading to ongoing impaired performance. One injury gone undetected greatly increases the negative consequences of subsequent injuries, making early assessment and intervention critical.  SPARK Neuro’s proposed TBI Detector relies on our existing algorithm development and software platform and focuses on analyzing the same brain-based signals as our other successful defense and commercial solutions, which have generated over $18 million in revenue and investment. SPARK Neuro leverages cutting-edge machine learning and deep learning techniques that allow us to automate complex neuroscience analyses into products that can be easily and effectively operated by unskilled users (e.g. non-scientists) and warfighters.  Our collaboration with Mayo Clinic adds the research and medical expertise necessary to build a state-of the-art deployable tool. Mayo Clinic is the top-rated clinical and research institution in the US and our research partners at Mayo Clinic are the most renowned in the field. They have been the  principal investigators (PI) for over 100 clinical trials, have authored more than 400 peer-reviewed research publications, and have led several DoD programs investigating mechanisms, predictors and prevention of traumatic brain injuries and their consequences.