Battling Osteoporosis
In one recent example involving federal support of MBTTC-MEI collaboration, Systems Engineering & Management Associates, Inc. of Alexandria, VA (a high-tech engineering and telecommunications company) won support from NASA's Small Business Technology Transfer Pilot Program to work with Alabama A&M University to develop technology that will lead to the design of an Osteoporosis Diagnostic Workstation (ODW). The ODW is expected to improve diagnosing and tracking osteoporosis, a degenerative bone condition that affects more than 1.2 million people annually.
Bell said he believes the MBTTC will be able to increase the overall number of MEIs participating in technology transfer activities. MBTTC's biggest impact may come from working with the smaller, private MEIs, who traditionally have had fewer resources than the larger, public MEIs such as North Carolina A&T and Tennessee State.
"MBEs can certainly help the schools that are small and have the most difficulty staying open," Bell said. "Overall, we're not doing enough technology transfer, and MBEs working with schools can change that."
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