Emory University, Georgia Tech, CHOA receive millions to support inventors in health care

Emory University announced on Wednesday that the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health has awarded a team of academic and medical institutions — including Emory University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta — $7.8 million for research. The funds will be awarded to the Atlanta Center for Microsystems Engineered Point-of-Care Technologies (ACME POCT) over the next five years to support inventors developing microsystems-based point-of-care technologies to improve patient care.

“Our center was just getting its footing established when the pandemic began, and our unique combination of technical, laboratory and clinical expertise allowed us to rapidly pivot our focus and capabilities to address critical needs during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Greg Martin, MD, professor in the School of Medicine’s Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, said in a press release.

As a part of the NIH Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network, ACME POCT is dedicated to developing microsystems, a field of medical technology focused on providing advanced diagnostic tests within a patient’s home, community or doctor’s office. The ACME POCT served as the national test verification center for rapidly evaluating COVID-19 tests during the pandemic.

“The pandemic has taught us - physicians, scientists, the public, and society as a whole - the importance of point-of-care technologies in rapid disease diagnosis and public health,” Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD, pediatric hematologist and oncologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, professor of pediatrics and biomedical engineering at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, said in a press release. “Our center is honored to continue its role as the technology-focused center within the NIH’s POCTRN and we’re excited to apply the lessons we’ve learned to foster POC technologies beyond COVID-19 to ultimately improve patient care and public health on multiple fronts.”