Bruin Biometrics lands second SBIR award for ortho device

Bruin Biometrics (BBI) said it has won a $1.4 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II program award from The National Institute of Arthritis and the musculoskeletal and skin division of the National Institutes of Health.

BBI (Los Angeles) uses biometric sensor technology to aid clinicians in the early detection and monitoring of chronic, preventable conditions. The award will help advance the detection capabilities, design and clinical evaluation of the company’s OrthoSonos, a novel acoustic emission device for orthopedics.

BBI is developing OrthoSonos to detect joint failure by assessing friction across the full range of motion. Since X-ray only provides a static image of the joint and the OrthoSonos is based on data gathered from the full dynamic range, the information provided by the device can augment the standard of care with an eye toward earlier detection, according to the company. Earlier detection can reduce the complications commonly associated with revision surgeries.

“While complication rates are low, the high volume of knee replacement surgeries and our increasingly aging population stress the importance of increased joint monitoring and prevention,” said BBI CEO Martin Burns in a prepared statement. “We are developing OrthoSonos as a health monitor for natural and artificial joints to support clinicians in their prevention efforts. Receiving a Phase II SBIR award demonstrates the incredible impact a prevention tool will have on this space.”

BBI also won a $150,000 SBIR NIH Phase I program award for demonstrating the feasibility of the OrthoSonos technology. The company’s first product to market is the SEM Scanner, a hand-held, portable, skin tissue assessment device that measures localized edema that precedes the development of pressure ulcers.

BBI is also developing P02M, which it described as the first device for monitoring tissue oxygenation at a specific location in real time. P02M is initially being tested for continual monitoring of tissue and vascular viability in the feet of diabetics.

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