AFWERX funding to expand use of Sparta Science’s non-invasive Force Plate Machine Learning™ to rapidly assess the brain health of Air Force personnel
Results of this USAF-funded R&D will also support application of Sparta Science’s Movement Health Platform throughout DoD and to civilian customers worldwide
Menlo Park, CA – May 2022 – Sparta Science today announced its selection for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct-to-Phase II R&D contract to help the United States Air Force improve its understanding of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). This project aims to advance Sparta Science’s technology that generates deep insights into a service member’s health and well-being to analyze Airmen’s Balance Signatures for indications of mTBI using Sparta Science’s commercially available Movement Health Platform using force plates and processing this human movement data through machine learning models. Additionally, two other Sparta Science Direct proposals focusing on Airmen’s NMSK health were selected and are awaiting funding.
“We are honored to help USAF improve their personnel’s neuromusculoskeletal (NMSK) health and overall unit readiness,” said Sparta Science CEO and founder Dr. Phil Wagner. “Our non-invasive platform provides deep insight into an individual’s balance which has been shown through research to be a valid indicator of TBI and concussion. By providing objective insight into this aspect of an individual’s NMSK state, we hope to enable a more efficient and effective diagnostic decisions and rehabilitative processes.“
AFWERX is the incubation wing of the Air Force Research Laboratory and is the primary agency for the USAF’s SBIR program that awards R&D contracts to small businesses to solved some of the Air Forces hardest problems with a focus on “dual-use” applications that are often derived from or later rolled out for civilian use.
“We are grateful for AFWERX’s assistance in expanding this novel technology to the entire Air Force — and ultimately, to the entire population,” added Wagner.
Sparta Science will use this opportunity to conduct further research and development focused on protecting the NMSK health and improving the overall physical readiness of the Air Force while reducing unnecessary attrition of our nation’s Airmen and other personnel.
The results of this USAF-sponsored research will benefit all current and future Sparta Science users.
Sparta Science is actively pursuing additional research and development projects and collaborations based on its three SBIR Phase I awards in 2021 as well as with federal agencies including the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program and the National Institute of Aging. Through these contracts, Sparta Science will establish a Phase III sole-source contract to streamline government customer access to and commercialization of its technology.
About Sparta Science
Sparta Science was founded with the vision that everybody should be able to move freely, without physical limitations, for as long as possible. Since bringing on our first customer in 2014, we’ve grown into a global full-stack movement health platform. Trusted by organizations spanning the healthcare, government, and sports industries, our platform empowers organizations to provide a better standard of care. Today, we’re ruthlessly focused on studying human movement and creating innovative ways to measure, monitor, and improve movement health.