Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN)

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The evolving healthcare system includes new delivery models in which primary care physicians and nurses are assuming more significant roles, with the patient more involved in decision-making and self-care. These changes require the development of inexpensive and easy-to-use medical devices and information sharing tools that provide timely health status information at the point of care (POC). NIBIB created the Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN) to drive the development of POC technologies through collaborative efforts that merge scientific and technological capabilities with clinical need.

Announcements

Research and Innovation Translation Partnerships in Point-of-Care Technologies Conference and Technology Showcase

Save the Date: November 28-29, 2023 | NIH campus, Bethesda, MD

Join NIH and colleagues to share best practices, learn about leveraging resources and explore new opportunities to collaborate in support of the rapid development, commercialization, and implementation of innovative point-of-care and home-based diagnostic technologies. 

 

Join the NIBIB Point of Care Technologies listserv to receive email notices regarding point of care technology announcements and POCTRN center solicitations.

Current POCTRN Network Centers

Each POCTRN center performs the following functions:

  • Assessment of clinical and user needs to inform device design
  • Evaluation of POC devices for performance and potential for clinical impact
  • Completion of clinical testing to facilitate translation and commercialization
  • Training and education of relevant stakeholders in the development and utilization of POC technologies
  • Development of partnerships with industry and other stakeholders to facilitate commercialization

 

Point-of-Care Technology Research Coordinating Center

PI: John Parrish, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

The center maintains a sustainable national network that pairs unmet needs in the delivery of primary care with promising emerging technologies, and provides resources needed to accelerate clinical application of technologies developed by the four Research Centers.

 

Center for Point-of-Care Technologies Research for Sexually Transmitted Diseases

PI: Charlotte Gaydos, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

The long-term goals of the center include addressing the epidemics of STDs/HIV in the U.S. and in resource-poor settings by developing novel POC tests and accelerating use of current ones to reduce health inequities and improve the sexual health of individuals worldwide.

 

The Center for Innovation in Point-of-Care Technologies for HIV/AIDS at Northwestern (C-THAN)

PI: Robert L. Murphy, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois

The center will support development of a pipeline of needs-based POC technologies critical for improved management of HIV/AIDS infected individuals in low and middle-income countries. The center will harness the existing expertise of a 17-year research and clinical network of collaboration addressing infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.

 

Atlanta Center for Microsystems Engineered Point-of-Care Technologies (ACME-POCT)

PI: Wilbur A. Lam, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

The center will support inventors from across the country who are developing microsystems-based POC technologies for cardiac, pulmonary, hematologic, and sleep applications. The center will define their specific clinical needs, conduct clinical validation, and refine their technology, with the objective of accelerating the path to translation from proof-of-concept to clinical use.

 

The Center for Advancing Point-of-Care in Heart, Lung, Blood and Sleep Diseases

PI: David D. McManus, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts

The center will evaluate and support POC technologies in heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders for diagnosis, monitoring, and interventional delivery by addressing unmet medical needs, supporting pathways to adoption at the POC, and training of and dissemination to relevant stakeholders.

More information

Visit the POCTRN coordinating center for more information on current POCTRN activities.

Related News & Events

September 21, 2023
NIH will advance the development of home-based and point-of-care health technologies with awards to six technology research and development centers around the country. The centers comprise the Point of Care Technology Research Network (POCTRN) and will parlay the momentum of the original network established in 2007 by the NIBIB.
July 24, 2023
New recommendations from the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx®) Tech Program provide a blueprint for the design and manufacture of more accessible diagnostic tests.
January 5, 2023
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NIH has launched the Home Test to Treat program, an entirely virtual community health intervention that will provide free COVID-19 health services—at-home rapid tests, telehealth sessions and at-home treatments—in selected communities.
November 22, 2022
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Reporting a positive or negative test result just became easier through a new website from the National Institutes of Health. MakeMyTestCount.org, developed through NIH’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx®) Tech program, allows users to anonymously report the results of any brand of at-home COVID-19 test.
September 15, 2022
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A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health has shown that commercially available rapid antigen tests can detect past and present variants of concern and has identified potential mutations that may impact test performance in the future.
November 28, 2023 - November 29, 2023
The conference will bring together researchers, technology developers, clinicians, and industry partners from all NIBIB Point of Care Technology Network (POCTRN) centers, regulatory administrators, non-government organization (NGO) leaders, and investors network to discuss complementary expertise and resources to accelerate point-of-care and home-based diagnostic technology innovation, validation, and commercialization.