The U.S. Economic Development Administration has awarded the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC) a three-year, $750,000 grant to start a health-based Internet of Things lab, according to a statement issued by NIIC.
WHY IT MATTERS
Health IoT describes health-related technologies where just about anything can be connected, communicated and used remotely in an intelligent way, said Tammy Allen, director of marketing and programs at the NIIC. The lab is expected to grow innovative products, businesses and new markets in Indiana.
NIIC, a community that helps launch entrepreneurs and grow businesses, claims to have launched 444 new products, facilitated over $42.6 million in research grants and $44.2 million in capital investments for its innovators. The businesses NIIC has helped start and grow have a 91.9 percent survivability rate, the group says.
The federal government is on the move in its efforts to expand the use of IoT. The NIIC is one of 40 organizations from 28 states and two territories to be awarded funding “to create and expand cluster-focused commercialization.”
The Lab will soon be looking for interested companies and individuals who want to be a part of this effort to expand their capabilities and grow their businesses, said Allen.
Chief Executive Officer Karl LaPan said work on the Indiana Connected Health IoT Lab/Network is slated to begin next month, according to Inside Indiana Business.
“IoT is quite an expansive industry when you look at all of the ways that connected technology can improve quality of life in so many dimensions of how people live and work and play today,” LaPan said. “The center is exclusively focused on looking at health and related health areas. [That’s] an area where industry needs to change and needs to improve in order to provide more effective, more engaging solutions for patients.”
ON THE RECORD
NIIC CEO LaPan: “Our programming and infrastructure will provide entrepreneurs, business builders, larger corporations and interested groups with innovative IoT ideas with resources, tools and networks to develop those ideas into innovative products, new or expanded businesses and new markets.”
Diana Manos is a Washington, D.C.-area freelance writer specializing in healthcare, wellness and technology.
Twitter: @Diana_Manos
Email the writer: [email protected]
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
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