Researchers from 19 countries recently came to NIH www.nih.gov to discuss how to use mobile technologies to improve health in the developing world. The Fogarty International Center at NIH www.fic.nih.gov hosted the session to spur more investigations on the effectiveness of using smartphones, sensors, and other mobile devices to build capacity in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC).
Mobile health research in LMICs requires creative thinking by specialists in technology. For example, Dr. Gari Clifford of Emory University described his ongoing project experience in rural Guatemala where the team is monitoring fetal and maternal health during pregnancy.
Dr. Clifford took a $17 ultrasound device, augmented it with a mobile phone and cloud infrastructure to create a tool that allows a midwife to conduct an ultrasound signal for help in an emergency. The data then can be uploaded to a medical record.
On May 26, 2016, the Fogarty International Center and five other NIH Institutes posted a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “Mobile Health Technology and Outcomes in Low and Middle Income Countries” (PAR-16-292).
The FOA seeks applicants capable of finding ways to develop or adapt innovative mobile health technologies specifically suited for LMICs. The goal is to improve clinical outcomes and public health while building research capacity in LMICs and then establish research networks between at least one U.S. and one LMIC institution.
One of the NIH Institutes taking part in the FOA is the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) www.nibib.nih.gov. Topics for development of particular interest to NIBIB includes developing integrated portable imaging technologies to monitor health along with developing technology incorporating telemetry and remote access to analyze and monitor biomedical data,
Also, NIBIB is interested in the development of software and hardware tools for telehealth studies that have broad applications and is looking for early-stage telehealth technologies to focus in specific areas.
Other organizations within NIH such as the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders www.nidcde.nih.gov, National Institute of Mental health www.nimh.nih.gov, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research http://obssr.od.nih.gov are included in this funding initiative.
Eligible applicants for (PAR 16-292) may include institutions of higher education, nonprofits, for-profits that can include small businesses, and non-domestic foreign institutions. Applicants may request up to $125,000 direct costs per year with applications due August 2016, or August 2017, or by August 2018.
Go to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-16-292.html for more details.