Guidant (Indianapolis, Indiana), and Remon Medical Technologies (Caeseria, Israel), a privately held medical device company, have established a cooperative development and supply agreement to incorporate Remon's interactive sensor technology into Guidant's Ancure Endograft System, a less-invasive method for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The application of Remon's patented technology to endovascular treatment will allow physicians to monitor the pressure within the excluded AAA, where there is an increased risk of rupture. Guidant and Remon said they are joint recipients of a grant from the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation for development of the product by the two companies.

VivoMetrics (Ventura, California) has signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the United States Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio). Under terms of the agreement, the Air Force will integrate a space-based radio navigation system (also known as global positioning system, or GPS) and long-range wireless capabilities into the company's LifeShirt System in order to create an advanced method for real-time location and physiological monitoring of military personnel in the field. The LifeShirt System is the first noninvasive, continuous ambulatory monitoring system that can collect data on respiratory and cardiac function and other physiological parameters, and correlate them over time. It features technology for in-hospital, noninvasive respiratory monitoring and apnea detection, and also includes sensors that monitor heart function, posture and physical activity, as well as a diary function to capture subjective patient experiences. Lt. Col. Mikel Miller, chief, electrical engineering division, an assistant professor in AFIT's Graduate School of Engineering and Management and the lead investigator on the CRADA, said, "Not only will we be able to detect injuries instantaneously and mount a quick, appropriate medical response, but we also believe it will help us predict when service members are at risk for exhaustion or are otherwise in trouble." Other projects outlined in the CRADA include developing an "intelligent" flight suit that can detect a fighter pilot's loss of consciousness during complicated aerial dogfight maneuvers and activate the plane's automatic navigation system. The research will also investigate new ways to improve on the accuracy of GPS localization so that it could be used to track personnel inside buildings. Products developed under the research agreement could be ready for field use as soon as 2003, according toVivoMetrics.