More than 25 million Americans suffer from daily chronic pain, a highly debilitating medical condition that is complex and difficult to manage. In recent decades, there has been an overreliance on the prescription of opioids for chronic pain despite their poor ability to improve function and high addiction liability. This contributed to a significant and alarming epidemic of opioid overdose deaths and addictions. Innovative scientific solutions to develop alternative pain treatment options are thus critically needed.
This Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) encourages the translation of the novel neurotechnologies, funded through the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative and overseen by the NIH Blueprint MedTech program. Academic institutions and Small Business Concerns (SBCs) are encouraged to submit grant applications that propose non-clinical validation for subsequent clinical feasibility studies of medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of pain and opioid use disorder (OUD). Applications supporting the development and translation of groundbreaking neurotechnologies that fit within the mission of the HEAL Initiative are encouraged.