For Immediate Release
July 30, 2012 

Contact:  Robin Strongin
                                 202-263-2917
rstrongin@amplifypublicaffairs.net 

 

 

ZANSORS AIMS TO HELP IDENTIFY CHILDREN AT RISK FOR SLEEP-RELATED BREATHING DISORDERS WITH PEDIATRIC SLEEP MEDICINE TECHNOLOGY LICENSE

University of Michigan Technology Transfer Office Grants License for SRBD Sleep Quality Scale Technology, First Step for Zansors towards Commercializing SRBD Scale for Public Utilization

MCLEAN, VA – University of Michigan’s Technology Transfer Office (U-M TTO) announced on Monday that it has granted health information technology company Zansors LLC a license for its sleep quality (SRBD) Scale technology. Drawing on its experience in the mobile health space, Zansors aims to develop an easily accessible version of the SRBD Scale to help identify children at high risk for sleep-related breathing disorders, hyperactivity and sleepiness in children by alerting parents to the symptoms.       

 “I believe that Zansors technology will have substantial impact on clinical care that will ultimately improve patient-centered outcomes and constrain health care costs,” said Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, a Professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine [School of Medicine] and Health Management and Policy [School of Public Health], where he directs the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design, who first alerted Zansors to the SRBD Scale technology.

 The SRBD Scale serves to educate or alert parents about symptoms that could signal a serious underlying problem with their child’s sleep quality and wellness. Through a straightforward questionnaire, the Scale has the potential to alert many unsuspecting families that a problem could exist. It asks parents about snoring, problems breathing during sleep and some of the key consequences that physicians believe arise when sleep quality is not treated: poor attention, hyperactive behavior, impulsiveness and daytime sleepiness. The instrument was designed, developed and validated in the laboratory of Ronald D. Chervin, MD, MS, the Michael S. Aldrich Collegiate Professor of Sleep Medicine, Professor of Neurology, and Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Michigan Health Systems. Though the Scale has only been used for research purposes up to this point, the data collected over the past decade suggests it has the potential to serve a useful purpose in the community, if offered in a user-friendly and easily available format.

“My research in sleep medicine has focused for more than 15 years on sleep disorders in children, who often present with symptoms and signs that can differ from those in affected adults.  Perhaps for that reason, children can remain undiagnosed for years,” explains Dr. Chervin. “I look forward to the SRBD Scale being made available to parents and children, in collaboration with Zansors, in a manner that could increase awareness about sleep quality and wellness, and perhaps lead to help for children who might otherwise have remained undiagnosed and untreated.”

 Although diagnosis and treatment would still remain the responsibility of families, their pediatricians, ear nose and throat specialists, and sleep medicine physicians, wider use of the sleep quality scale has the potential to alert many unsuspecting families that a problem could exist, for which help could be available. For this reason, there is much excitement around the University of Michigan’s Office of Technology Transfer’s announcement that Zansors has been granted licensing for the SRBD Scale.

 “Bringing together one of the nation’s leading sleep medicine researcher with Zansors will lead to important breakthroughs aimed to better address the health and economic issues connected to sleep, including clinical conditions such as obesity and diabetes, but also broader effects such as employee safety and productivity,” said Dr. Fendrick.

 “Zansors seeks to partner with world-class institutions like the University of Michigan and researchers like Dr. Chervin.  Dr. Fendrick and I believe that Zansors can expand its innovation portfolio and clinical medicine efforts through collaborations,” added Bishnu Gogoi, Ph.D., Zansors Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder. “I look forward to bringing innovations like Dr. Chervin’s research to the market.”

 U-M’s TTO Associate Director Doug Hockstad echoed these sentiments.

 “We are delighted that Zansors has licensed the sleep scale technology, and we believe that the technology presents the Zansors team with commercialization opportunities in sleep medicine,” Hockstad commented. “We look forward to expanding our public-private partnership with Zansors so that society benefits with useful commercial products.”

 About Office of Technology Transfer University of Michigan
The University of Michigan spends over $1.2 billion per year on its wide-ranging research initiatives, making it one of the largest, most successful academic research institutions in the world. U-M Tech Transfer, the University unit responsible for transferring research discoveries to business and venture partners, launches an average of 10 start-ups, and signs over 100 agreements with businesses annually. These activities have led to the launch of over 100 new start-up companies since 2000, including HealthMedia, Compendia Biosciences and Arbor Networks, and the adoption of several world-changing technologies, such as the FluMist® inhalable flu vaccine and the IntraLase® LASIK eye surgery system. More on U-M Tech Transfer, including an up-to-date list of technologies available for commercialization, can be found at the U-M Tech Transfer website

About Zansors LLC
Zansors develops and delivers innovative technologies and applications that improve healthcare. Besides making mobile health apps, Zansors is a leader in micro/nano sensors, data systems, and analytics with a proprietary biotechnology platform that includes microfluidics (also known as lab-on-a-chip). The company is based in McLean, Virginia and led by a team of physicians, research scientists, and technologists experienced in enterprise business solutions.  For more information, find us at the following sites:

Website: http://www.zansors.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Zansors
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Zansors