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Santa Barbara, CA, 23 August 2004
Innovative Micro Technology (IMT) announces that
it has been awarded $2.3 million from the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) for continuing the development of IMT's
next generation cell purification technology based on micro-electromechanical
systems (MEMS). The purpose of this award, part of DARPA's Rapid
Vaccine Assessment program, is to develop a high-speed system for
purification of human blood stem cells, as part of DARPA's goal
to develop an ex-vivo immune system. If IMT receives the optional
additional year of funding, the effort could total up to $4.65 million.
According to Dr. John Foster, IMT's CEO, "The
results of our Phase 1 study have proven that IMT's leading-edge
MEMS technology is viable. With DARPA's assistance, we are excited
to continue this work in Phase 2 to realize the potential of this
technology and help to dramatically improve cell purification processing.
We are taking a step closer toward providing a solution for treating
real patients with affordable and efficient cell therapy."
The concept behind this device is to incorporate
massively-parallel MEMS chips to rapidly and easily purify cells
for therapeutic and research applications. In this phase, IMT aims
to increase the performance of the chip and system, extending to
32 parallel channels for faster sorting speed to achieve one-million
events per second. This technology will have immediate applications
for the treatment of life-threatening human diseases (most particularly
cancer and autoimmune disorders) and will make it possible to prevent
the deaths of individuals at risk of radiation exposure to lethal
doses from a terrorist attack or nuclear disaster.
The content of the information does not necessarily
reflect the position or the policy of the Government, and no official
endorsement should be inferred.
About Innovative Micro Technology
Located in Santa Barbara, CA, Innovative Micro Technology (IMT)
is a leading prototyping and sub-micron 6" wafer manufacturing
services provider for MEMS, with particular strengths in design
for manufacturability, high-volume manufacturing and metrology/test.
IMT features both bulk and surface MEMS, including RF, optotelecommunications,
biomedical, biotechnology, DSL switching, inertial measurement,
and other devices. Contact Monte Heaton: Phone (805) 681-2800; FAX
(805) 967-2677, email monte@imtmems.com or visit www.imtmems.com.
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