The National Science Foundation has awarded Piezo Resonance a $500,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Grant for a medical project, supported by Holy Spirit Hospital.

The two companies are Piezo Resonance Innovations Inc., an innovative start-up in Bellefonte that specializes in integration of smart-materials technology into medical products, and Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, which has a growing and well-earned reputation for health information-technology leadership and innovation.

The team for their project includes nursing practitioners from Holy Spirit. For the project, Holy Spirit is performing safety and efficacy clinical studies on the Tube-Clear, a device that clears clogged and sluggish feeding tubes that could leave an already compromised patient without medication or nutrition for hours.

To date, Tube-Clear prototypes at nursing focus groups have produced an overwhelmingly positive response. Upon commercialization, the Tube-Clear will ease the burden on both the patient and nursing staff while creating technology and manufacturing jobs in Pennsylvania.

"Holy Spirit was instrumental in (Piezo) receiving this Phase II award, and we look forward to working with them on this and other projects," Piezo President Maureen L. Mulvihill said.

Pennsylvania plays host to a strong foundation for advanced research, development and commercialization of technologies and innovations that improve our daily lives. We're pleased to connect innovations so the state gets back its fair share of our federal tax dollars.

Kelly Lewis is president and CEO of TechQuest Pennsylvania, operated by the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania.