Interactive Round Table Discussion Groups

How Biosensors Can Address Global Health Challenges
Moderator: Lisa Diamond, PhD, CEO, Pinpoint Science Inc.

Where can access to biosensor solutions save lives in the developing world?
How can novel biosensor technologies contribute to fighting emerging pandemic threats?
What new tools can be offered to consumers to monitor and diagnose their own health status?
How do we best handle data collected from connected biosensors, protecting patient privacy while informing public health agencies?
What new applications for biosensors are needed in veterinary medicine, agriculture and food safety?

Power Solutions for Miniaturized Implants
Moderator: Robert Rubino, Senior Director, Research and Development, Integer

How can we improve power technology to make powered implants smaller and more convenient?
What wireless power solutions are available?
What new battery and capacitor solutions are available that enable smaller devices?
What are the technical hurdles that these new technologies need to overcome and how do we get there?

Mixed-Signal Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs): Advantages, Challenges, Justification, and Strategies
Moderator: Andy Kelly, Director of Applications Engineering, Cirtec Medical (formerly Cactus Semiconductor)

What advantages are offered by Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)?
What are the primary challenges associated with an ASIC-based design?
What are the most common applications that justify the challenges of an ASIC-based design?
How do you approach the system/circuit partition when developing an ASIC-based design?
What factors should be considered when deciding to either work with an ASIC supplier or develop an ASIC in-house?
What are the most important factors when selecting an ASIC supplier?

Miniaturization for Chemical and Biological Detection
Moderators: Phillip M. Mach, Analytical Chemist, US Army
Cory Bernhards, PhD, Research Microbiologist, CBR, Defense Threat Reduction Agency

How do you decide what to prioritize?
Continuous improvement in sensitivity and specificity

Best Practices for AI, IoT, etc
Moderator: Luisa Bozano, PhD, Manager, Nanoscale Fabrication Group, IBM Almaden Research Center

We hear about what’s worked at conferences, but what about what hasn’t worked?
What standards do we like? What don’t we like?

Advanced Materials
Moderator: Stacey Standridge, PhD, Deputy Director, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

What advanced materials are you working with?
What specific performance, cost, or other benefits are you targeting with these materials?
What are the bottlenecks in deploying advanced materials in devices (e.g., technical performance, manufacturing scale, reproducibility, integration, standards, financial considerations)
What are potential mechanisms to address these bottlenecks?
What lessons can be learned from prior technologies in evolution of scale, reproducibility, and quality control? Are there any new challenges that are unique to your advanced material?

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
Moderator: Juan Figueroa, PhD, Entrepreneurship Advisor and Associated Researcher, Puerto Rico Science Technology Research Trust

When was the first time you heard about SBIR/STTR? What are the similarities and differences from what you heard today?
Are you aware of any SBIR/STTR award winner? Are you aware of a company with a potential for >$1M equity free and hold on to IP? Why wouldn’t you invest in it/them? Why would you invest in it/them?
Are you afraid the federal government will take the IP?
Are you afraid the grantees (contractors) do not have the experience to move the company forward?
Do you have a horror story about an SBIR/STTR company? A positive story? What went wrong? What went right?
What do you want to hear to make you look favorably towards investing in an SBIR/STTR grantee?

Overcoming the Challenges to Bringing Medical Devices to The Market
Moderator: David DiPaola, Managing Director, DiPaola Consulting, LLC; Member,MANCEF (Micro and Nanotechnology Commercialization Education Foundation)

What were your biggest challenges bringing a medical device to market and what solutions did you implement?
How were you able to expedite the FDA approval process and when in the development did you get the FDA involved?
How do you recommend shorting the time to market for a medical device?
What issues did you face in pilot production that were not identified in in the development stage and what steps did you take to address this?
How did you incorporate manufacturing, test and dimensional measurement requirements into your design up front? What tools did you use?