AccuBreath Inc. received a $1,000,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a Phase II project to continue development of the AccuBreathEMS, a portable device that ventilates, monitors and supports patients’ breathing during medical emergencies and transport.
This funding program is highly competitive, and applications go through a rigorous vetting process for both technical impact and business potential. AccuBreath was granted this award for its work to improve the healthcare provided to patients needing airway support during emergency situations. AccuBreathEMS is designed to replace a bag-valve-mask device, the current standard of care, and can support an airway without endotracheal intubation.
“The standard of care for emergency rescue ventilation hasn’t changed much in decades. AccuBreath hopes to revolutionize the tools used by first responders to enable them to perform their job faster, safer, and more effectively,” said Dr. Michael Fogarty, co-founder and CTO.
“Every second matters in these life or death situations and AccuBreathEMS has been designed to magnify and augment the highly specialized skill set of first responders,” said Spencer Madsen, co-founder and CEO.
Fogarty and Madsen co-founded the company in 2017 while studying biomedical engineering at the University of Utah. The patented technology behind AccuBreath was Dr. Fogarty’s primary research for over 5 years. Its core technology has spawned additional patents and medical applications that are currently in the works.
AccuBreath’s Phase II award came through the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, where the company previously received a $225,000 NSF Phase I award. The SBIR program coupled with the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program offers close to $4 billion to innovative small businesses across the country each year.
The Utah Innovation Center assisted AccuBreath with these winning proposals and is available to assist other Utah companies looking for non-dilutive funding through the federal SBIR/STTR programs. The Utah Innovation Center can be contacted at innovationutah@utah.gov.