Sparta Science Awarded U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Contract for Musculoskeletal Injury Return to Duty Decision Support

Company is Actively Collaborating with DOD on Multiple SBIR Phase I and Phase II projects

Menlo Park, CA –  Sparta Science, the developer of a scalable, machine learning-based movement health platform, was recently awarded an AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) to develop an objective, scalable decision support tool to aide in musculoskeletal injury (MSKI) return-to-duty (RTD) determinations. This award is significant because it will allow Airmen and their care teams to benefit from the greater standardization built into this decision-support metric, ensuring they are released to full unrestricted duty at the optimal time.

Sparta Science is actively collaborating with the Department of Defense (DOD) on multiple SBIR Phase I and Phase II projects to improve warfighter readiness by modifying Sparta Science's commercially successful movement health intelligence platform to address various Department of the Air Force (DAF) use cases. These initiatives will explore opportunities to enhance clinicians' and practitioners' abilities to deliver effective movement health guidance at a scale relevant to the USAF. 

Under this award, Sparta Science will explore R&D partnerships with training units that experience a high volume of MSKIs, as well as transition and acquisition strategies with program offices to ensure the successful enterprise-wide implementation of Sparta’s RTD decision support tool.

"Musculoskeletal injury is the number one reason for medical non-deployability across the Air Force," said Dr. Phil Wagner MD, CEO and Founder of Sparta Science. "This project will allow Sparta Science to develop software to increase rehabilitation professionals’ confidence and effectiveness in RTD decisions and to become a component of the RTD decision process across the DOD.”

The Air Force is deliberately investing in reducing the immense burden of MSKI to ensure full force readiness for worldwide deployability. This project will develop evidence-based support for RTD decision-making to determine when RTD is safe and appropriate, optimizing the readiness of the force.

Read the press release on Yahoo Finance

About AFRL

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 11,000 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. 

For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.

About AFWERX

AFWERX, a program office at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), connects innovators across government, industry and academia. Through innovation and collaboration with our nation’s top subject-matter experts and harnessing the power of ingenuity of internal talent, by expanding technology, talent, and transition partnerships for rapid and affordable commercial and military capability. 

Additional information is available at afwerx.com.

About AFVentures

AFVentures invests in emerging technologies to scale Department of the Air Force capabilities, strengthening the US industrial base that empowers Airmen and Guardians by incentivizing private, for-profit investment in national security interests. Our success is achieved by connecting novel commercial solutions with defense problem sets, de-risking Airmen and Guardian initiatives to fill capability gaps and transition technologies. 

Learn more at https://afwerx.com/afventures-overview/.

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