Development and/or Validation of Devices or Electronic Systems to Monitor or Enhance Mind and Body Interventions (R41/R42) | PAS 17 023

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS 17 023

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Development and/or Validation of Devices or Electronic Systems to Monitor or Enhance Mind and Body Interventions (R41/R42)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAS 17-023) is an STTR grant program aimed specifically at small business concerns that want to build practical, research-driven technology for mind and body interventions. The central purpose is to support the development and/or validation of devices or electronic systems that either measure important biological or behavioral processes related to these interventions, or actively help people practice them more effectively and get better outcomes from them. In other words, the opportunity is focused on tools that can track what is happening in the body and mind during an intervention, and/or tools that can improve how the intervention is delivered, adhered to, personalized, or optimized.

A key emphasis of the FOA is technology innovation and translation. Projects can propose brand-new technologies, but they do not have to start from scratch. Applicants are also encouraged to adapt innovative existing technologies, repurpose already available devices or electronic systems for these new use cases, or test single components (or combinations of components) that may eventually become part of a larger integrated system. The FOA explicitly calls out interest in work that could contribute to long-term, automated, wearable monitoring or stimulation systems. That means projects might involve sensors, mobile or wearable platforms, closed-loop or feedback-based systems, or other electronic approaches that can continuously measure signals or support intervention practice over time rather than only in a brief lab setting.

The types of interventions covered are strictly non-pharmacological and fall under what NIH describes as mind and body interventions. These include mind/brain focused approaches such as meditation and hypnosis; body-based approaches such as acupuncture, massage, and spinal manipulation or mobilization; and combined mind and body meditative movement approaches such as yoga, tai chi, and qigong. Technologies proposed under this FOA should be clearly tied to one or more of these intervention categories and should be aimed at monitoring mechanistic processes (how the intervention produces effects) and/or functional outcomes (what changes in symptoms, performance, or health-related function). The opportunity is therefore well suited to tools that can quantify engagement, physiological response, behavioral patterns, adherence, or other measurable indicators that help explain or improve intervention effects.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary NIH grant opportunity using the STTR mechanism, with activity codes R41 and R42 (generally aligned with a phased approach, commonly corresponding to early feasibility/proof-of-concept work followed by further development and validation). Eligibility is limited to small businesses as the primary applicants, consistent with STTR requirements that emphasize collaboration between a small business and a research institution. Foreign organizations are not eligible to apply as applicants, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components may be allowed in certain circumstances as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which typically means limited parts of the work could potentially occur abroad if strongly justified and compliant with NIH policy.

The FOA is listed under CFDA 93.213 and was created on 2016-10-19, with an original closing date shown as 2020-01-05 in the provided source data. No award ceiling or expected award count is specified in the excerpt provided. Overall, the opportunity is designed for small businesses developing practical device or electronic system solutions that make mind and body interventions more measurable, more personalized, more scalable, and ultimately more effective through improved monitoring and technology-enabled optimization.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Development and/or Validation of Devices or Electronic Systems to Monitor or Enhance Mind and Body Interventions (R41/R42)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-10-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-01-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Small businesses.

Apply for PAS 17 023

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