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Ed. Note: The following is a press
release from Spire Corporation .
Sept. 8, 2004--Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR): -- Award made under NIH
Bioengineering Nanotechnology Initiative. -- Nano-structured silicon
surfaces are to be used as neural growth scaffolds. -- Devices may someday
be used for biological control of prosthetic devices.
Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR) announced today that it has received a
$400,000 Phase I SBIR grant from the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke, under the National Institutes of Health
Bioengineering Nanotechnology Initiative, to develop nano-structured
porous silicon coatings to enhance the biocompatibility of silicon-based
neural electrodes, which someday may be used for biological control of
prosthetic devices. Demonstrated success on this Phase I program can lead
to a Phase II program of as much as $1.2 million.
Interfacing the nervous system with electronic devices has long been an
exciting possibility for repairing nerve damage. Neuroprosthetics has
grown rapidly to include a variety of devices for stimulating peripheral
nerve tissue. However, devices that interact with brain tissue have lagged
behind due to the sensitive response of brain tissue to the electrode. The
silicon neural electrodes being developed under this program are
engineered with a nano-structured form of silicon, called porous silicon,
which acts as a scaffold that reduces glial scarring from electrode
implantation and enhances neural growth at the brain recording sites to
create a superior interface with neurons.
The research will be conducted by Spire Biomedical, Spire's wholly owned
subsidiary, with semiconductor processing support for the fabrication of
the silicon-based neural electrodes from Bandwidth Semiconductor, another
Spire wholly owned subsidiary. Using a rat brain model, neural electrodes
with unique nano-structured surfaces will be designed, implanted and
tested in collaboration with Drexel University's School of Biomedical
Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Karen Moxon who has been
developing microelectrodes for chronic in-vivo recording of single neurons
in the brain for the past several years.
Nader Kalkhoran, Vice President of R&D, Spire Biomedical, said, "We are
pleased to have the opportunity under this NIH nanotechnology program to
develop biocompatible surface structures for multi-channel neural
electrodes, which could potentially help patients, as well as the research
community, dealing with such debilitating neurological illnesses as
multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or spinal
cord injury. We are also excited that this program will benefit from
nearly three decades of experience at Spire in the areas of surface
modification of biomaterials as well as semiconductor device processing."
Roger Little, Spire Corporation CEO and Chairman, said, "This award under
the NIH Bioengineering Nanotechnology Initiative is testimony to our
ability to bring semiconductor nanotechnology to biomedical applications.
It is especially pleasing that we are using our expertise to address an
issue that can have such a dramatic effect upon people's lives."
Spire Corporation provides products and services to the biomedical, solar
energy, telecommunications and defense industries worldwide based upon a
common technology platform.
Certain matters described in this news release may be forward-looking
statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
the risk of dependence on market growth, competition and dependence on
government agencies and other third parties for funding contract research
and services, as well as other factors described in the Company's Form
10-KSB filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts
Spire Corporation
Nader M. Kalkhoran, Vice President R&D, Spire Biomedical
781-275-6000
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