TREAT Resources

New rehabilitation and assistive technologies are being developed every day to improve the health and well-being of individuals with injuries and disabilities. Unfortunately, due to seemingly insurmountable barriers in the commercialization process, many of these important and novel innovations never reach the people who can benefit from them the most. These obstacles, which are unique to every device, often include some combination of limited market size, lack of up front development costs, inability to secure and safeguard intellectual property, difficulty in proving technology efficacy, and navigating the medical regulatory and reimbursement systems.

TREAT tailored experiential learning programs have been created to help innovators navigate this challenging commercialization process. The collective expertise of our team, member organizations, and collaborating institutions is leveraged to provide early stage product evaluation, technology assessment, prototype development, commercialization planning and execution, and to develop and foster a pragmatic approach to conducing comparative effectiveness clinical trials. A sampling of programs offered includes:

Educational Opportunities

TREAT Educational Resources provide an opportunity for rehabilitation technology innovators to learn about the process of product ideation, evaluation, and execution. Upon submission of a technology concept, an individualized experiential learning curriculum is created to augment an innovators background and expertise. Components of this curriculum could include: completing a Technology and Market Assessment (TMA), attending on-line lecture series that teaches beginning and advanced entrepreneurial concepts, and direct access to expert consultation in all aspects of device commercialization.

Commercialization Assistance

TREAT Commercialization Assistance Program offers both pilot funding and in-kind service awards to help accelerate commercialization of rehabilitation and assistive technologies. These rehabilitation translation projects are selected through competitive review and are supported by mentorship from the TREAT for technology assessment, technology development, and clinical trials development.

Entrepreneur Fellowship

The TREAT Entrepreneur Fellowship Program is a 6 month, immersive cooperative educational and professional opportunity for individuals seeking experience in technology translation and commercialization.

Innovation Sabbatical

TREAT Innovation Sabbatical opportunities (3-12 months) are available for visiting rehabilitation researchers and innovators to dedicate their full attention towards commercializing their technology concept. Visiting scholars are encouraged (and expected) to take advantage of the wide variety of on-site expertise and resources during this period of time and share their experiences once returning to their home institutions.

Rehabilitation Technology Assessment Core provides education, mentorship and services to help innovators assess their product concepts. Primary stages of commercialization addressed by this Core include technical and commercial feasibility, clinical relevance, intellectual property, technology transfer, market evaluation, cost estimation, and financing opportunities. Advisors and participants include scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, marketing experts, and venture capitalists.

Rehabilitation Technology Prototyping and Development Core provides infrastructure resources and expertise to design, build, test, and transfer to manufacturing technology concepts. Resources and expertise available cover a wide range of technology development, including: rapid prototyping, electromechanical system design, materials research and testing, software interfaces, firmware development, computer modeling and simulation, and large scale database implementation and data analysis. Additionally, facilities are available, including a comprehensive machine shop, to provide technical training for visiting scholars, fellows, and interns.

Comparative Effectiveness Clinical Research Core provides education, services, and training to help rehabilitation technology innovators develop and propose relevant and practical clinical trials that will support the validation and translation of research ideas to clinical practice. While execution of a comparative effectiveness trials typically requires resources, both financial and personnel, beyond those offered by TREAT, expertise provided by this Core can dramatically reduce overall project costs through careful assessment and planning.