The following Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICs) will be participating in the Blueprint MedTech program. Institute specific interests are also provided below. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the NIH Scientific/Research IC program staff for more information about this program before submitting an application.
Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative
Contact: Nick Langhals, Ph.D., Yvonne Bennett, Ph.D., Megan Frankowski, Ph.D., Elyse K. White, Ph.D.
There is a need to help transition BRAIN Initiative-relevant technologies from early device development to first-in-human studies. Projects that fit the following categories can be submitted through the Blueprint MedTech Program. BRAIN will support the following efforts coming into the BP MedTech UG3/UH3 and U44 funding opportunities:
- Projects developing novel invasive neurostimulation devices for the human central nervous system (CNS).
- Projects developing novel invasive brain recording devices for the human CNS.
- Projects developing novel non-invasive brain stimulation devices for the human CNS. These devices should aim to achieve brain stimulation resolution of sub-millimeter at the cortical surface and depth. These approaches may incorporate electromagnetic, mechanical, or combination biological and device means (e.g., optogenetics).
For more information, see the Notice of Shared Interest (NOSI) NOT-NS-22-052.
National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR)
Contact: Theresa Cruz, Ph.D., Toyin Ajisafe, Ph.D.
The National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research within NICHD supports assistive and rehabilitation technology to improve the function of people with physical disabilities. NICHD will only accept applications related to the mission of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research.
Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative
Contact: Eric Hudak, Ph.D.
Through Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) NOT-NS-23-002, the NIH HEAL Initiative encourages the translation of novel neurotechnologies, funded through the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative and overseen by the NIH Blueprint MedTech program. There is a need to help transition HEAL Initiative-relevant technologies from early device development to first-in-human studies. HEAL will support projects developing novel invasive or non-invasive devices for the diagnosis and/or treatment of pain and/or OUD. More information about the HEAL Initiative is available at: HEAL Initiative.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Contact: Emrin Horgusluoglu, Ph.D.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) supports the development and validation of technologies that can facilitate the integration of complementary and integrative health approaches to enhance diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of diseases and/or associated symptoms, or promotion of well-being and whole person health relevant to the nervous and neuromuscular systems. In addition, NCCIH supports the integration of technologies with multisystem studies to understand the connections and interactions across systems involving the brain and the rest of the nervous system such as interoception, and/or the impact of multi-component interventions on multisystem connections and interactions in pre-clinical models or human subjects. NCCIH will not support clinical efficacy studies or pivotal trials of an intervention.
Complementary health approaches include a broad range of practices and interventions that are not typically part of conventional medical care. They can be classified by their primary therapeutic input, including nutritional (e.g., special diets, dietary supplements, herbs, probiotics, and microbial-based therapies), psychological (e.g., meditation, hypnosis, music-based interventions, relaxation therapies), physical (e.g., acupuncture, massage, chiropractic manipulation, other force-based manipulations, or devices related to these approaches), or a combination of psychological and physical (e.g., yoga, tai chi, dance therapies, some forms of art therapy such as music-based interventions).
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Contact: Tony Gover, Ph.D.; Paek Lee, Ph.D.
The National Eye Institute is requesting applications for the development of FDA Class III medical devices, as well as invasive ocular implants and prosthetics (retinal or cortical) that can stimulate retinal or cortical neurons to produce visual percepts. NEI is not interested in projects focused on developing diagnostic/imaging devices or assistive devices through this program.
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Contact: Michael Wolfson, Ph.D.
The mission of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is to transform through engineering the understanding of disease and its prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment. NIBIB may support the development of broadly applicable products, where the disease or organ being targeted is used as an initial model and could be adapted to other indications in the future. Before contacting NIBIB, applicants should first discuss the initial target with the Institute and/or Center on this page that is most relevant to the disease(s) being addressed by the proposed product.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Contact: Melissa Ghim, Ph.D.; Margaret Grisius, D.D.S.; Lorena Baccaglini, D.D.S., Ph.D.
NIDCR is interested in:
- Development of technologies for oral somatosensory or autonomic nerve stimulation to enable diagnosis and/or treatment of motor and sensory conditions, such as bruxism, sleep apnea, temporomandibular/facial pain, swallowing reflex, salivary gland production, and other dental, oral, and craniofacial related conditions and disorders related to the nervous system. These technologies can include the integration of intra- and extra-oral sensors and relevant treatment delivery mechanisms controlled by software systems that allow capture, analysis and display of target biosignatures including but not limited to neural activity.
- Biofeedback & multimodal neurofeedback technologies for treatment of facial nerve disorders, as well as neurological (e.g., trigeminal neuralgia, peripheral neuropathy associated with Sjogren’s syndrome, burning mouth syndrome) and non-neurological (e.g., vascular/muscular, immune) facial pain. These technologies can include wearable and embeddable devices as well as virtual or augmented reality technology to address acute and chronic conditions.
- Development, validation and testing of novel technologies to promote prevention and treatment of orofacial and craniofacial nerve injuries, including nerve regeneration.
- Development, validation and testing of technologies that improve the accuracy and validity of dental, oral or craniofacial clinical pain measurements.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Contact: Ruben Alvarez, Ed.D.; Margaret (Meg) Grabb, Ph.D.; John Greene, Ph.D.
NIMH is specifically interested in novel brain stimulation/modulation technologies (invasive or noninvasive) for use in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, or in targeting specific domains of clinical functioning across psychiatric disorders, when appropriate (see RDOC). Devices capable of both recording and stimulating neural activity, with the ability for closed-loop control are also of interest (including synchronizing dense behavioral quantification with neural data); these devices should be able to demonstrate clear capability to record oscillations of interest to mental health applications. Devices can target specific age ranges, including vulnerable populations (pediatric, geriatric). Note: Animal studies to assess “efficacy” must follow NIMH criteria. Please contact NIMH staff above to ensure your project fits NIMH priorities, prior to application submission.
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
Contact: Dana Greene (formerly Schloesser), Ph.D.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Contact: Nick Langhals, Ph.D.; Emily Caporello, Ph.D.
NINDS will support translational device applications relevant to its mission.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Contact: Kristina McLinden, Ph.D.; Yuan Luo, Ph.D.
NIA, as the primary federal agency for aging and Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) research, supports the development and application of innovative technology for early diagnosis and treatment of age-related disorders and AD/ADRD.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Contact: Elizabeth Powell, Ph.D.
NIAAA supports basic, translational, and clinical research on the causes, consequences, prevention, diagnosis, progression, and treatment of alcohol-related problems across the lifespan. NIAAA also encourages meritorious research projects on alcohol-related topics of relevance to understanding and addressing minority health and health disparities.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Contact: Leonardo Angelone, Ph.D.; Stacie Gutowski, Ph.D.; Dan Kostov, Ph.D.
NIDA will support applications aiming to develop novel medical devices intended for use in the diagnosis of, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of Substance Use Disorder (e.g., Opioid Use Disorder, Stimulant Use Disorder). See the NIDA Mission for additional details.
Common Data Element Usage
Please note that many Blueprint ICs expect or strongly encourage the collection of Common Data Elements (CDEs) for the research supported by their IC. Applicants to BP MedTech NOFOs are encouraged to contact the POC for relevant ICs for more information on IC-specific data sharing expectations and requirements.