THE MAGIC GLOVE
The hands and fingers were the second most common sites of non-battle injuries reported by service members.
into reality. For perspective, the MTEC prototype-acceleration award mechanism is instrumental in helping teams advance their prototypes toward their next major technical milestone, with the hopes that additional funding from another source will
Tose attempts have blossomed over the past several years. Since it became fully operational in January 2016, USAMRDC has awarded 176 different prototyping projects through MTEC with more than $640 million in government funding— along with an additional $87 million in cost share funds (which comes via either cash or another type of in-kind contribu- tion by the performer). Currently, MTEC has more than 117 active awards; mean- ing the opportunity that Wijesundara saw all those years ago has made a similar impression across the larger academic and business worlds as well.
CONCLUSION As it stands now, the ReHeal Glove is involved in an early feasibility study clin- ical trial with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—a
trial funded by follow from there. According to
MTEC, the award mechanism provides that “awardees may receive up to $250,000 to achieve a technical milestone(s) that helps them secure follow-on funding.” Each prototype-acceleration awardee also receives tailored support from MTEC’s staff and associated M-Corps—a network of subject matter experts and service providers—to address business, technical and regulatory challenges associated with medical product development. This
support aims to advance the
commercialization readiness of the MTEC technology portfolio for positioning and possible funding by MTEC’s investor network.
“I was in an early meeting years ago discussing MTEC,” said Wijesundara. “And I saw very quickly the opportu- nity that was available, what they had created—the attempt to get semi-mature technology into the hands of clinicians.”
44 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2022
CDMRP. Te device will be tested on a range of individuals—so far, two healthy volunteers have been studied, with injured patients to follow later this year. Trough- out this process, questions have been posed and answered, processes revised and physi- cal changes made before even more testing takes place. Tis is the life cycle of this kind of technology.
But the promise of MTEC extends far beyond just the initial
idea. Overall,
more than 40 percent of MTEC’s roster of successful projects have secured follow- on funding from either the government or the corporate sector that continues to invest in the prototype’s advancement with the ultimate goal being to turn the device into a final, polished product.
“Tere are a lot of parties that are just now becoming familiar with MTEC,” said Palestrini. “It’s got this added benefit where everyone—investors, venture capi- tal groups working through our expanded programs for commercialization, indus- try partners, the foundations we work
with—can come into the mix to get a sense of what the government is funding for the military and then, also, what they can piggyback onto for a civilian use case.”
Allan and Wijesundara are hoping for similar success. For Allan specifically, the ReHeal Glove would be the answer to a problem he’s been trying to tackle for his entire career.
“I used to wish for a device like this,” said Allan, firm in his belief the ReHeal Glove could lead to a dramatic improvement in outcomes across the board—including quicker recovery times. “We expect that it’s going to fill a gap that I’ve observed—and also that my colleagues have observed— over the past 20 years.”
For more information about USAMRDC, go to
https://mrdc.amedd.army.mil/. To learn more about MTEC, go to
https://www.mtec-sc.org. To see a video about the ReHeal Glove go to ht t p s : //www. y o u t u b e . c om / w a t ch ? v = N 2n a 9d s v N L Y . To learn more about the consortium model, go to
https://asc.army.mil/web/news-not- far-at-all/.
RAMIN A. KHALILI is a writer with USAMRDC’s public affairs office. Before assuming his current role, he spent five years as the knowledge manager for USAMRDC’s Combat Casualty Care Research Program. During his previous work as a broadcast journalist, he earned an Associated Press Award for his work in Phoenix, Arizona, before serving as chief NASA correspondent for CBS in Orlando, Florida. He holds a B.A. in communications from Penn State University. He is a frequent contributor to Army AL&T, and his most recent piece for Army AL&T was “Double Time” in the Spring 2022 issue.
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