DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office’s BEST program seeks to address the need for improved wound management technologies by developing an automated bioelectronic smart bandage that can predict, prevent, and treat wound infections and be deployed at all levels of military medical care including on the battlefield. This bandage will continually monitor a wound for indicators of failure to heal due to infection and employ closed-loop control to intervene when infection is predicted or to resolve an existing infection.
By the end of the program, a device will be derisked and accelerated to medical device technology readiness level 6* (TRL-6, system integration and testing). Additionally, to prepare for eventual technology transition, performer teams will develop and execute effective regulatory, clinical, and commercialization strategies with the goal of maximizing opportunities for advanced development and follow-on funding.
Key to success of the BEST program will be technologies that:
- adapt to variations in the wound microbial community composition;
- adapt to variations in the host’s injury and infection response (eg compromised immunity due to polytrauma);
- continually update the status of a wound to determine interventions when indicated to fail;
- utilize novel treatments (not established, narrow-spectrum antibiotic drugs) to which microbes cannot develop resistance;
- does not interfere with a wound that is predicted to heal on its own.
By the end of the program, the sensor and treatment elements will be combined into a low size, weight, and power closed-loop device that can provide rapid predictions and precise treatments and be deployed at all roles of military medical care including the battlefield.
This initial phase of the program will be 24 months, with the possibility of selected projects being invited to proceed into phase 2 (12 months).
All proposals must address all three of the programs focus ares:
- FA1 – Sense – automated and continual characterization of wound infections and healing predictions
- FA2 – Treat – tomated, real-time delivery of treatments to prevent the development of infections or resolve existing infections in wounds.
- FA3 – Closed-Loop Control – ware and software integration of FA1 and FA2 into a low-SWaP, closed-loop, automated system for field forward deployment
DARPA expects to award ~USD$22M across multiple projects.
Abstracts (strongly encouraged but not mandatory) are due 25 March 2025.
Full proposals are due 6 May 2025.
Document
Program Solicitation – BEST: DARPA-PS-25-12
