Point-of-Care Technology Research Network: An evolving model for collaborative translational research in biomedical engineering

Penny Ford Carleton; Steve Schachter; Tiffani Bailey Lash; Jue Chen; Todd Merchak; Oliver Brand; Bryan Buchholz; Charlotte Gaydos; Wilbur Lam; Yukari Manabe; Greg Martin; Sally McFall; David McManus; Robert Murphy; John Parrish

doi:10.1016/j.cobme.2019.10.011

Point-of-Care Technology Research Network: An evolving model for collaborative translational research in biomedical engineering

Curr Opin Biomed Eng. 2019 Sep:11:145-148. doi: 10.1016/j.cobme.2019.10.011. Epub 2019 Nov 13.

Authors

Penny Ford Carleton^{1

2}, Steve Schachter^{1

2

3}, Tiffani Bailey Lash⁴, Jue Chen⁵, Todd Merchak⁴, Oliver Brand⁶, Bryan Buchholz⁷, Charlotte Gaydos⁸, Wilbur Lam⁶, Yukari Manabe⁸, Greg Martin⁶, Sally McFall⁹, David McManus⁷, Robert Murphy⁹, John Parrish^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Consortium for Improving Medicine with Innovation & Technology, Boston, MA, USA.
² Point-of-Care Technology Research Network Coordinating Center, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁵ National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁶ Atlanta Center for Microsystems Engineered Point-of-Care Technologies (ACME), Emory University and Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁷ Center for Advancing Point of Care in Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Diseases (CAPCaT), University of Massachusetts, Worcester and Lowell, MA, USA.
⁸ Center for Point-of-Care Technologies Research for Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁹ Center for Innovation in Point of Care Technologies for HIV/AIDS at Northwestern (C-THAN), Evanston, Ill, USA.

Abstract

As the healthcare system evolves from a centralized, hospital- and office-based model to an emphasis on patient-centric care delivered in decentralized settings from the community and/or home to low resource settings domestically and internationally, some Point-of-Care Technologies (POCT) have become important and others may soon become important in facilitating care. These portable diagnostic and monitoring devices enable moving care closer to the patient. We review recent developments in a national model to accelerate the development of POCT, specifically the Point-of-Care Technology Research Network (POCTRN), comprising a multi-center scientific network supported by a coordinating center. We summarize the history of the Network, and then describe the primary objectives and key activities of the Network and highlight the role of a new coordinating center providing administrative and infrastructure support. POCTRN is committed to building evidence-based best practices for high-quality translation and commercialization in biomedical engineering to maximize clinical impact of Point-of-Care Technologies.

Keywords: Collaboration; Innovation; Network; Point-of-Care; Technology; Translational research.

Abstract

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