Cincinnati, OHIO, Jan. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IncludeHealth Inc., an internationally awarded digital health & wellness company, announced today that has been awarded an AFWERX Phase I SBIR grant from the U.S. Department of Defense and Air Force. The grant applies IncludeHealth’s digital health platform to developing and standardizing next-generation fitness protocols for war fighters. IncludeHealth’s proprietary equipment and cloud-based platform will be installed in The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Signature Tracking for Optimized Nutrition and Training laboratory (STRONG) located within the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to be used in a two month study with 40 war fighters.
“By providing integrated digital and physical tools with deep objective data sets, our technology has the potential for meaningful impact and powerful applications in the DoD and Air Force,” said Ryan Eder, founder and CEO of IncludeHealth. “We hope to leverage our commercialized platform to help further quantify and qualify the health of our war fighters while also ensuring best-in-class care post deployment, whether that is returning to duty or civilian life. It’s an honor to apply our technology towards this purpose.”
The SBIR Phase I grant will leverage IncludeHealth’s instrumented, medical-grade platform to produce personalized protocols with enhanced fidelity based on the resulting data. Initial protocol delivery will be with the aid of a coach, then transition to full autonomous delivery utilizing IncludeHealth’s HIPAA compliant cloud infrastructure.
“We are interested in applying IncludeHealth’s technology to develop and validate next generation, mission-specific fitness protocols resulting in objective, data-driven, and evidenced-based duty qualifying scores.” said Dr. Adam Strang, director of AFRL’s STRONG Lab. “We also see powerful applications to remotely issue individualized training and rehab protocols across the Air Force network without the need for human proxy.”
Once Phase I is completed, Phase II and III are slated to expand by adding multiple installations across the Air Force network, facilitate aggregated data analysis, and further develop deep advancements in next generation protocols to deliver best-in-class services for the Department of Defense. Advancements to the platform will also ultimately be available to all of IncludeHealth’s commercial partners utilizing their platform.
88 ABW Case Number: 88ABW-2018-6337
ABOUT SBIR
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation’s R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs. For more information on SBIR, visit https://www.sbir.gov
ABOUT AFWERX
Established in 2017 by the Secretary of the Air Force and reporting to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, AFWERX is a catalyst for agile Air Force engagement across industry, academia and non-traditional contributors to create transformative opportunities and foster an Air Force culture of innovation. The core mission of AFWERX is to improve Air Force capabilities by connecting innovators, simplifying technology transfer and accelerating results. For more information on AFWERX, visit https://afwerxdc.org
ABOUT AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a global technical enterprise, leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space, and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 10,000 across nine technical directorates and 40 other operations across the globe, the Air Force Research Laboratory provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology that range from fundamentally to advanced research and technology development. For more information on AFRL, visit https://afresearchlab.com
ABOUT STRONG LAB
AFRL's STRONG lab is a state-of-the art exercise and cognitive science research facility. The goal of STRONG is to develop, validate and transitions human performance technologies (e.g., biophysiological sensors, nutritional supplements, mobile software apps., physical & cognitive training curriculums, etc.) to military training and operational units.
ABOUT INCLUDEHEALTH
IncludeHealth provides a next generation digital health platform transforming physical medicine, rehabilitation & wellness. Originally inspired by witnessing a man in a wheelchair struggle to exercise, The Include Platform platform pairs HIPAA compliant cloud software with accessible rehabilitation & wellness equipment to both digitize and inclusivize care. This combination provides breakthrough capabilities such as outcomes-based data collection, automated documentation, cloud collaboration and equal access for all ages & abilities. The culmination is better outcomes with lower barriers and costs throughout the continuum of care. IncludeHealth’s proprietary technology has been recognized with 29 international innovation & health awards and is utilized in orthopedics, neuroscience, pediatric care, senior care, government, and general wellness. To learn more, visit includehealth.com or connect via twitter (@includehealth) or Facebook (IncludeHealth, Inc.).
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