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Tucson Firm Marcus Engineering to Develop Fingerprint Sensor for the Defense Health Agency
Through a Small Business Innovation Research Grant the company will help medical personnel identify and secure soldier’s medical records while simultaneously taking their health vitals all with the touch of a finger.
TUCSON, AZ, August 29, 2017
A battlefield hospital is a fast paced environment where every second counts. But even in this hectic place, some of the things a civilian needs when they seek medical care still need to be created. Medical records need to be accessed and attached to the right patient. Vital signs must be captured and appended to that medical record. Without good record keeping, the consequences can literally be life and death.
The Defense Health Agency is seeking a better way to handle these critical steps when every second counts for a wounded soldier. To that end the DHA just awarded a Phase I SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant to Tucson company Marcus Engineering to further study a combined medical device the company calls MAIM (Micro-Intelligence Arterial Management). This device is a combination of multiple technologies, including a fingerprint biometric sensor and physiological vital sign gathering tool with the ability to not only identify a patient who may be unconscious, but to append data to electronic health records. After the MAIM device is put onto a soldier’s finger by a medic, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and PPG waves are automatically appended to the specific soldier’s medical file via a wireless connection based on the soldier’s individual fingerprint. MAIM allows for quick patient identification, access to that individual’s medical health records, and for patient tracking, therefore making this device useful in rural, first responder, or emergency medicine settings.
SBIR Grants Drive Innovation
The United States Congress created the SBIR program in 1982 and the STTR program in 1992. These programs congressionally require eligible governmental agencies to set aside a percentage of their extramural budget so that domestic small businesses can engage in R&D that has a strong potential for technology commercialization.
Phase I of an SBIR grant is a technical feasibility phase which lasts no longer than one year and is funded by an award not to exceed $150,000. During this phase, Marcus Engineering will engage in the research efforts to prove the concept and commercial and technical feasibility of the device.
Provided the outcomes of Phase I meet the expectations of the Defense Health Agency Marcus Engineer would move to Phase 2 which provides up to $1 million dollars for a two year prototype development process.
Marcus Engineering MAIM Team
The team at Marcus Engineering will be lead by Principal Investigator Dr. Alice Ferng, clinical scientist and systems engineer. Dr. Ferng is also a professor at the University of Arizona Department of Surgery, with an extensive background in clinical research, medical innovation, and is frequently called on to review and evaluate novel medical technology for industry, research, and scientific publications.
Dr. Patrick Marcus is the president of Marcus Engineering, LLC, an electronics engineering firm, in Tucson, AZ. Dr. Marcus’ background includes founding and growing high technology companies. Patrick earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering and BS in Electrical Engineering with Honors, Cum Laude from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Patrick Marcus is the president of Marcus Engineering, LLC, whose background includes founding and growing high technology companies. Dr. Marcus earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Arizona. He is a graduate of the prestigious McGuire Entrepreneurship Program at the Eller College of Management, University of Arizona and is highly decorated for efforts in STEM Education, Engineering Innovation, and Community Engagement.
About Marcus Engineering
Marcus Engineering specializes in prototyping and full product development for military, aerospace, medical device, photovoltaics, mining and energy firms in the United States. They are one of 8 medical device specialist development partners worldwide for Microchip Technologies, the world’s largest supplier of 8-bit microprocessors and are partnered closely with the world’s two largest electronics distributors Avnet Electronics and Arrow Electronics. Marcus Engineering has been critical in the development of over $100 million in products for clients globally.
About Patrick Marcus
Dr. Patrick Marcus is the President of Marcus Engineering, LLC and a principal of Apparently Connected, LLC. Dr. Marcus has extensive background in electronics design, industrial automation, design for manufacturing. Dr. Marcus has founded and run several successful companies in technology and high reliability industrial manufacturing.
Congratulations Alice and Patrick!
Tarek