In 2007, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) created The Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN) to drive the development of appropriate point-of-care diagnostic technologies through collaborative efforts that simultaneously merge scientific and technological capabilities with clinical needs. The Network also provides parallel educational activities that advance evidence-based medical practice in point-of-care testing in critical care, primary outreach, and low-resource environments, including global health settings.
The NIBIB gave grants to four Centers to build expertise in the development of integrated systems that address unmet clinical needs in point-of-care testing. A major aspect of the function of each Center is the creation of multidisciplinary partnerships necessary to move technologies from an early stage of development into clinical testing. Each of the four Centers will serve as a resource to the technology development and clinical communities in their respective areas, as well as coordinate activities across areas as a Network.
Each Center within the POCTRN will perform or facilitate five different Core functions:
- Conduct in-house clinical testing of prototype point-of-care devices.
- Collaborate with physical scientists, biochemical scientists, computational scientists, and engineers on exploratory technology development projects.
- Complete clinical needs assessments in areas anticipated to advance the filed of POC testing and disseminate this information to the technology development community.
- Provide training to technology developers on clinical issues related to the development of point-of-care devices.
- Provide an adequate administrative structure to ensure that the large, complex Center achieves its goals.
Opportunities for collaboration on exploratory technology development projects with each individual Center will be announced as each Center defines clinical needs in its respective health care area.
Charlotte Gaydos, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Johns Hopkins University, is the Principle Investigator (PI) of the Center for Point-of-Care Tests for Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Fred Beyette, PhD, is the PI of the Point-of-Care Center for Emerging Neurotechnologies at the University of Cincinnati. Gerald Kost, MD, PhD, is the PI of the UC Davis-Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Point-of-Care Technologies Center at the University of California, Davis. Bernhard Weigl, PhD, is the PI of the Center for Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Global Health which is a collaboration of the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) and the University of Washington.
For more information about the POCTRN, contact:
Brenda Korte, PhD
Program Director
