A Medical Device Daily

As part of the new Exposure Biology Program, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences , a component of the National Institutes of Health , has issued $74 million in grant opportunities for the development of new technologies to improve the measurement of environmental exposures that contribute to human disease.

The three grant opportunities will support research to develop portable, easy-to-use sensing devices that will accurately measure personal exposure to a variety of chemical and biological agents. The grants will also support the development of biomarkers, based on changes in DNA structure, proteins, metabolites and other molecules enabling scientists to study how the body responds to environmental stress.

The Exposure Biology Program is one of two complementary research programs outlined in the Genes and Environment Initiative, a five-year, NIH effort to identify the genetic and environmental underpinnings of asthma, diabetes, cancer and other common illnesses. The program will focus on technologies to assess chemical and biological agent exposures, dietary intake, physical activity, psychosocial stress and addictive substances, plus methods for quantifying the biological responses to these stressors.

David Schwartz, MD, director of NIEHS, said, “The discoveries made with these new tools will ultimately lead to new strategies for the prevention and treatment of many illnesses.”

“The technologies used for the detection and measurement of environmental exposures should be as precise as the measurement tools currently used for genetic research,” said Brenda Weis, PhD, senior science advisor at NIEHS and program coordinator for the Exposure Biology Program.

The following are the grant opportunity descriptions:

• “Environmental Sensors for Personal Exposure Assessment” will support the development of field-deployable or wearable devices that provide direct measurements of exposure to ozone, fine particles, diesel exhaust, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, pesticides, microbial toxins, and other environmental agents that have been linked with respiratory disease, cancer and other illnesses.

• “Biological Response Indicators of Environmental Stress” will focus on development of sensitive biomarkers that reflect subtle changes in inflammation, oxidative damage and other pathways that can lead to disease.

• “Biological Response Indicators of Environmental Stress Centers” will focus on the development of sensitive biomarkers that reflect subtle changes in inflammation, oxidative damage and other pathways that can lead to disease, and the incorporation of these markers into field- and laboratory-based sensing devices.

The Exposure Biology Program also includes two other grant opportunities:

“Improved Measures of Diet and Physical Activity for the Genes and Environment Initiative” and “Field-Deployable Tools for Quantifying Exposures to Psychosocial Stress and to Addictive Substances for Studies of Health and Disease.”

“Any individuals with the skills, knowledge and abilities required to carry out the proposed research, including scientists who work in NIH laboratories, are encouraged to submit an application for participation in the program,” said Weis.

NIEHS will host an information meeting and videoconference, Oct. 20, 2006 in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to allow potential applicants to obtain information and clarify any questions about the funding opportunities.

Ohio Reps. seek power mobility cut delays

Six Ohio congressmen have written to Michael Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), asking that he postpone Medicare cuts that the industry says would prevent seniors and people living with disabilities from having access to power wheelchairs.

TheCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a new fee schedule calling for 35% to 41% cuts in reimbursement rates for power wheelchairs, a move that the industry claims will “severely impact” patient access for those most in need, as well as dramatically impact small businesses in Ohio, and across the country.

“We implore you to take immediate action and postpone the Nov. 15, 2006 fee schedule for power mobility devices,” the Representatives wrote. “It is imperative to establish a new fee schedule using rational methodology…so that beneficiaries with ALS and other debilitating diseases that progress over time will not be without the necessary mobility when they need it most.”

The letter says that “trying to save dollars at the expense of someone’s quality of life is not good public policy.’’ The letter was signed by Democratic representatives Tim Ryan (Youngstown), Ted Strickland (Marietta), Dennis Kucinich (Lakewood), Sherrod Brown (Lorain), Marcy Kaptur (Toledo) and Stephanie Tubbs Jones (Cleveland).

Suppliers in the state say they may be forced to close their businesses, lay off workers or stop providing power wheelchairs.

“The problem that CMS doesn’t understand is that we don’t have anything to cut,” said Carol Gilligan, president of Health Aide (Cleveland). “At these reduced rates, the cost of acquiring a wheelchair, fitting the patient, servicing the chair and doing the documentation paper work will exceed the amount that Medicare will pay for the chair.”