NIH Awards Startup $228,325

A Purdue University www.purdue.edu affiliated startup with grant funding from NIH https://www.nih.gov of $228,325, is developing a device that will enable researchers and medical professionals to conduct MRI scans with increased efficiency. The funding will be used to further develop the device and software into a user-friendly system so that the startup called “MR-Link” can begin to distribute the device for use by researchers.

The coin-sized device works simultaneously with an MRI system to record electrophysiological signals and then performs various imaging scans. The device allows researchers to record, stimulate, and image the brain and other organs in synchronization with the MRI system.

According to the researchers at Purdue, the device shows great potential to significantly improve the safety, efficacy, and precision of medical diagnostics for patients who suffer from epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, depression, and other diseases.

The company “MR-Link” located in West Lafayette Indiana secured the funding through a “Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase 1 grant. The goal of the STTR program is to use federal funds to support scientific excellence and increase private sector commercialization of technological innovation.

According to Ranajay Mandal, Nishant Babaria, and Zhongming Liu, MR-Link Co-Founders, the company is scheduled to open offices in Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette to be managed by the Purdue Research Foundation http://www.prf.org.