CCF funding supports Dr. Shrirang Gadrey and his novel device to detect respiratory rate and labored breathing patterns before asthma attacks occur.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES, March 7, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC) today announced that UVA Health has been awarded a Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) grant for $100,000 in support of research conducted by Dr. Shrirang Gadrey. VIPC’s CCF programs have distributed more than $54 million to Virginia-based startups, entrepreneurs, and university-based inventors since 2012 in support of critical early technology testing and market validation efforts.

Early detection of distressed breathing can trigger early life-saving treatment for a child suffering an asthma attack, but every child’s distress signs can look different. Because of this, parents of pediatric asthma patients often find it difficult to accurately diagnose an attack. Using a groundbreaking form of technology known as Analysis of Respiratory Kinematics, or ARK, Gadrey and his team are designing a remote monitoring device to automate, individualize, and improve the detection of labored breathing patterns and diagnosis of asthma attacks in children. The CCF grant will be used to optimize ARK prototypes for home use and develop the necessary remote monitoring infrastructure.

“Although breathing patterns contain vital diagnostic and prognostic information, current monitoring processes are very subjective and rely heavily on visual inspections. There are no devices on the market that can accurately measure breathing patterns and risk stratify asthma attacks even in hospitalized children, let alone from any location or setting,” said Gadrey, MBBS MPH and Associate Professor of Medicine at UVA School of Medicine. “With this innovation, we expect to not only take away guesswork from worried parents, but also enhance patient safety, reduce burdensome costs, provide equity, and improve long-term outcomes of pediatric asthma.”

“Dr. Gadrey started with an ‘all-things-to-all-people’ solution, but through thorough customer discovery and engagement with the ICAP program and other entrepreneurial resources available in the Commonwealth, he has identified the pediatric asthma market as an important target,” said Hina Mehta, VIPC’s Director for University Programs. “He has an excellent relationship with qualified mentors, has identified a clear commercialization pathway, and CCF funding will be an important component for advancing the solution and putting it in the hands of consumers.”

About UVA Health
UVA Health is an academic health system that recently expanded to include four hospitals across Charlottesville, Culpeper, and Northern Virginia, along with the UVA School of Medicine, UVA School of Nursing, UVA Physicians Group, and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library. With more than 1,000 inpatient beds, approximately 40,000 inpatient stays annually, and more than 1 million outpatient encounters annually at UVA Health, more than 1,000 employed and independent physicians provide high-quality, comprehensive, and specialized care to patients across the Commonwealth and beyond. Founded in 1819 as just the 10th medical school in America, the UVA School of Medicine – with 20 clinical departments, eight basic science departments, and six research centers – consistently attracts some of the nation’s most prominent researchers to develop breakthrough treatments to benefit patients around the world. Those research efforts are backed by more than $200 million in grant funding. UVA Health Children's is recognized as the No. 1 hospital in Virginia for children by U.S. News & World Report, with nine specialties rated among the top in America. More than 230 UVA physicians are honored on the Best Doctors in America list. For more information, resources, and to follow us on social media, please visit www.uvahealth.com.

About Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)
Connecting innovators with opportunities. As the nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA), VIPC is the commercialization and seed stage economic development driver in the Commonwealth that leads funding, infrastructure, and policy initiatives to support Virginia's innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, and market development strategies. VIPC also collaborates with local, regional, state, and federal partners to support the expansion and diversification of Virginia’s economy. 
 
Programs include: Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) | VVP Fund of Funds | Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) | Petersburg Founders Fund (PFF) | Smart Communities | The Virginia Smart Community Testbed | The Virginia Unmanned Systems Center | Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Alliance (VAAMA) | The Public Safety Innovation Center (PSIC)| Entrepreneurial Ecosystems | Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) | Federal Funding Assistance Program (FFAP) for SBIR & STTR | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement. 

For more information, please visit www.VirginiaIPC.org. Follow VIPC on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.

About the Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF)
VIPC’s Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) accepts applications and awards funding on a rolling basis to Virginia’s small businesses and university-based innovators. For Virginia’s academic and nonprofit research community, the competitive grant program seeks to fund high-potential Virginia-based academic research teams that are developing technologies with strong commercial potential. The grants support early technology and market validation efforts such as customer discovery, market research, business model validation, the development of prototypes or minimum viable products (MVPs), customer pilots, and intellectual property protection, team development, and more. For more information on funding opportunities and eligibility requirements, or to apply, visit the CCF pages from www.VirginiaIPC.org.

Angela Costello, Vice President of Communications
Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)
angela.costello@VirginiaIPC.org
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