The National Eye Institute (NEI) and participating National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutes (IC) and Centers are issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to solicit applications proposing to advance research activities relevant to quantum sensing in biomedical and clinical research and application. The purpose of this NOSI is to support small businesses for stimulation of technological innovation in quantum sensing. The specific research interests of participating NIH ICs are detailed within.
Quantum sensing technologies are gaining importance with several near-term, real-world applications on the horizon in biomedical research. Quantum sensing harnesses the sensitivity of quantum mechanics for engineering and measuring quantum states at a sub-atomic level to improve sensing performance. Quantum sensors can monitor different signals such as electric fields, pH, temperature, and very weak magnetic and optical signals using many-fold less power and decreased size than their classical counterparts. Quantum sensing technologies promise to provide more equitable and granular data collection across the biomedical landscape through the development of low-cost, portable, and user-friendly medical devices. Through further technological biological development and optimization, novel quantum sensing technologies could drastically enhance current biological imaging and sensing measurements, providing novel opportunities and unique capacities to understand biomedical phenomena and advance clinical translation, the use of research outcomes in patient care settings. For more information on NIH’s Quantum Information Science Initiative, please refer to https://datascience.nih.gov/quantum-information-science.
This NOSI invites researchers to explore innovative and potentially transformative research on applications of quantum sensing in biomedical and clinical research. Enabling quantum sensing technologies toward biomedical research will require collaborative efforts and inclusion of an integrative research plan based on collaborations between quantum sensing researchers and biomedical engineers, geneticists, biologists, and/or physician scientists.
This NOSI encourages Phase I, Fast-Track and Direct to Phase II SBIR, as well as Phase I and Fast-Track STTR grant applications from Small Business Concerns to develop commercializable tools, resources, and approaches that harness new quantum sensing approaches to solve biomedical research questions with application in areas of preventing, monitoring and diagnosing disease. The overarching goal is to bring quantum mechanics -based sensing applications from the lab to the biomedical market and clinic. To be responsive to this NOSI, a project must focus on a relevant biomedical problem that falls within the mission of one of the participating Institutes or Centers. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIH Scientific/Research staff and participating NIH Institutes/Centers prior to preparing an application.
This Notice applies to due dates on or after October 24, 2024 and subsequent receipt dates through January 27, 2027.
NOT-EY-24-014