Technology Research Grants

Intuitive is pleased to announce the availability of funding to support  Technology Research Grants in 2020.

Overview: The purpose of these grants is to support technology research in the field of surgical robotics, or related fields. Successful proposals will address clinically-relevant technology development. Grants will be awarded to researchers at non-profit academic institutions worldwide. Awards will be conferred on a competitive basis by submission of a grant application.

Available Grants: Applicants may apply for $10,000 to $60,000 of funding per project (US Dollars, total costs). The grant monies can be used to fund salaries, equipment, supplies and/or travel required to support the proposed research project for a period of up to one year.

Research areas of interest

We have identified key research areas of interest for the 2020 technology grant program. Principal Investigators are encouraged, although not required to submit proposals that fall into one or more of the Grant Categories:

Endoluminal Systems: Research focused on developing flexible endoscopes, catheters, and instruments for applications that are accessed via or through lumens in the body. Examples may include:

Articulation mechanisms, mathematical models, clinical models and novel fabrication technologies of continuum robots.
Diagnostic or therapeutic devices that can be delivered through a flexible working channel or flexible cannula.

Instruments and Accessories: Research focused on instruments and accessories (I&A) that, together with a robotic surgical system, enable surgeons to deliver improved therapy for better treatment of patients. Examples may include:

Innovative materials, architectures, or designs for improved surgical instrument or accessories
Innovative clinical applications of I&A technology for improved treatment options
Adaptation of emerging technologies, or novel integration of existing technologies to address clinical or practical limitations of current instruments and accessories

Intelligent Systems: Research focused on new technologies or algorithms that improve the capabilities of da Vinci systems based on data-driven models of the surgeon, the da Vinci system, and/or the environment. Examples may include:

Algorithms that generate contextual knowledge of a procedure (such as the clinical scenario, anatomical maps, surgeon performance, etc.) based on video and/or system data.
Technologies that utilize contextual knowledge to shape system behavior, improve workflow, or optimize surgeon performance.

Navigation and Guidance: Research focused on developing technology to improve surgical outcomes by navigation and guidance solutions. Examples may include:

Technology that improves surgical outcomes via navigation, image guidance, enhanced visualization/rendering or augmented reality.
Cloud-based solutions to intraoperative guidance.
Machine learning solutions to surgical scene understanding and decision making.
Algorithms and technology focused on supervised automation of surgical subtasks.

Novel System Architecture: Exploration of novel system-level concepts for robot-assisted intervention. Examples may include:

Architectures that focus on enabling new clinical applications.
System configurations that improve upon existing procedures by accessing the anatomy in novel ways for clinical, workflow, or economic benefit.

Training Technologies: Research focused on developing and testing computerized hardware and software to train or evaluate the technical skills required by members of a da Vinci surgical team. Examples may include:

Technology that assesses proficiency of the team during draping, docking, and other tasks at the patient side cart.
Technology that provides real-time feedback on technical skills to a surgeon during a procedure.
Using cognitive load measures to optimize training curricula for individual learners.

User Interface / Controls: Pursue research on methods that augment human-in-the-loop perception, decision-making and control when performing minimally invasive surgical tasks.

Enhancements to the surgeon console that afford greater situational awareness of the endoscopic space and robot configuration while preserving immersion.
Methods that increase surgeon autonomy and reduce dependence on skilled bedside assistance

Vision: Research focused on developing and testing imaging hardware and software to augment surgeon knowledge about anatomy, tissue or disease state. Examples may include:

Technology that informs about cancer margins, tissue perfusion, or nerve locations.
Technology that can provide insight into the physiologic state of organs or other tissue.

Application guidelines

Selection Process:  Applicants must first submit a Letter of Intent to propose (LOI), as detailed below. Grant LOIs will be reviewed and ranked by an internal selection committee. Those pre-proposals meeting a predetermined scoring threshold will be invited to submit a full grant application (not exceeding 10 pages, excluding bibliography and references). All invited full grant applications will be reviewed and scored based on the following criteria:

Clarity of research goals and objectives.
Novelty and innovation.
Clinical relevance and value.
Evidence of feasibility.
Strength of evaluation methods and measures.
Availability of required resources.

Letters of intent and full grant proposals will be handled in a confidential manner and will not be distributed beyond the grant selection committee at Intuitive. Due to the expected volume of proposals, we regret that the committee will not be able to provide detailed individualized feedback for unsuccessful proposals.

Letter of Intent Guidelines: A two-page letter of intent to propose should be submitted by all grant applicants. Submissions will consist of 5 parts:

Summary: one or two sentence proposal overview.
Clinical Motivation and Relevance.
Specific Aims / Hypothesis for the Research (not more than 500 words) for the project.
Summary of Planned Methods
Relevant Research Team Experience: Indicate the identities, capabilities and credentials of investigators as well as any participating institution.
Budget: Include a rough project budget that includes estimated costs for staff, equipment, consumables, and other direct costs. Applicants can request up to $60,000 in total costs, with no more than 20% of this total constituting indirect costs.

Deadlines:

We are asking interested applicants to submit a Letter of Intent by June 10, 2019. Invitations to submit full grant applications will be sent by July 29, 2019 (this invite will include proposal guidelines and forms).
The deadline for submitting a full, invited grant application is  September 16, 2019. Only complete application packets will be considered. Awardees will be notified by November 4, 2019. Grant monies must be used to support research expenses during the 2020 calendar year.

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Grant conditions

Intuitive strongly encourages institutions who have not previously received funding from the company to apply.
Multiple grants will not be funded simultaneously to any principal investigator.
Multiple grants to the same institution for different principal investigators will be considered.
Awards must be used to fund research at academic institutions. Grants are not to be used to fund for-profit activities.
Grants are awarded to principal investigators at their institution. If there are any changes in the principal investigator or group’s ability to conduct the proposed research, Intuitive reserves the right to reconsider the award.
Grant monies must be used to support research expenses during the 2020 calendar year only.
If the grant agreement is not signed by March 31, 2020, Intuitive reserves the right to reconsider the award.
Total costs may include no more than 20% indirect costs and the total budget, including both direct costs, indirect costs and any applicable taxes, should not exceed $60,000 USD.
In the case of technology development, IP terms and conditions may require a negotiated agreement.
Grantees will be invited to present their work at our headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA (travel costs covered by Intuitive).
All applicants selected to receive a grant are required to submit a one-page mid-year progress report, as well as a final status report that details study results and conclusions. If the funded project does not take place, all monies awarded will be refunded to Intuitive. If the project is terminated early then a partial refund, with an accounting of the funds expended up to the termination date, will be provided by the Principal Investigator. Any unused funds as of 31 December 2020 will be refunded to Intuitive.

Please email grants@intusurg.com with questions regarding the grant process.  

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Disclosures and Important Safety Information

Important Safety Information

Serious complications may occur in any surgery, including da Vinci^® surgery, up to and including death. Examples of serious or life-threatening complications, which may require prolonged and/or unexpected hospitalization and/or reoperation, include but are not limited to, one or more of the following: injury to tissues/organs, bleeding, infection and internal scarring that can cause long-lasting dysfunction/pain.

Risks specific to minimally invasive surgery, including da Vinci surgery, include but are not limited to, one or more of the following: temporary pain/nerve injury associated with positioning; a longer operative time, the need to convert to an open approach, or the need for additional or larger incision sites. Converting the procedure could result in a longer operative time, a longer time under anesthesia, and could lead to increased complications. Contraindications applicable to the use of conventional endoscopic instruments also apply to the use of all da Vinci instruments.

For Important Safety Information, indications for use, risks, full cautions and warnings please also refer to www.intuitive.com/safety.

Individuals' outcomes may depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to patient characteristics, disease characteristics and/or surgeon experience.

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