Technology area

Wearable sensor

479 funded awards, $341.8M total, FY2023-FY2025.

Data current as of 2026-05-11

Pattern read

Wearable sensor at 479 records / $342M. NIAID leads (75; mostly infectious-disease physiologic monitoring), NHLBI (69; cardiopulmonary sensors), NIA (56; aging-related continuous monitoring). Median award is high at $777K, second only to manufacturing among the larger tags. The R44 share is dominant (303 vs 107 R43), nearly 3:1, the highest R44 lean of any tag. STTR participation is modest (38). Concentration is moderate at 6.5%.

Fit indicators

  • High median award ($777K) and 3:1 R44:R43 ratio suggest Phase II awards have been the durable mode here.
  • NHLBI is the natural lane for cardiopulmonary wearables; NIA for aging-population monitors.

Watchouts

  • 3:1 R44:R43 ratio is the highest of any tag. Phase I funding for wearables is relatively rare; many entrants needed clinical pilot data before becoming competitive.
  • Heavy device + software pattern. Reviewers consistently flagged 510(k) pathway clarity and SaMD framing as risk areas in funded applications.

Where the money sat, by Institute / Center

IC funding decisions are set by portfolio priorities, NOFO scope, and program-officer judgment. These are funded records, not predictions of future funding.

ICNameRecordsMedian award
AI (NIAID) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 75 $995,460
HL (NHLBI) National Heart Lung and Blood Institute 69 $663,310
CA (NCI) National Cancer Institute 56 $906,269
AG (NIA) National Institute on Aging 56 $542,385
DA (NIDA) National Institute on Drug Abuse 44 $393,020
NS (NINDS) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 27 $459,097
DK (NIDDK) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases 25 $853,587
MH (NIMH) National Institute of Mental Health 19 $446,490
HD (NICHD) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 15 $812,852
EY (NEI) National Eye Institute 14 $795,000
AR (NIAMS) National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases 13 $716,807
GM (NIGMS) National Institute of General Medical Sciences 13 $826,379
ES (NIEHS) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 11 $306,341
AA (NIAAA) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 8 $959,927
EB (NIBIB) National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering 7 $310,087
MD (NIMHD) National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities 6 $299,172
DC (NIDCD) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 6 $616,948
DE (NIDCR) National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research 4 $397,600
TR (NCATS) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences 3 $1,047,299
OD NIH Office of the Director 3 $958,973
AT (NCCIH) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health 2 $147,525
LM (NLM) National Library of Medicine 1 $410,924
NR (NINR) National Institute of Nursing Research 1 $306,817
HG (NHGRI) National Human Genome Research Institute 1 $406,324

FOA / NOFO routes

Opportunity number prefixes: PA = Parent Announcement (broad, omnibus, multiple ICs), PAR = Parent with Special Review, PAS = Parent with set-aside funds, RFA = Request for Applications (targeted, single-IC, fixed budget). Status unknown means the pipeline has not verified whether the FOA is currently posting awards; the SBIR omnibus has been in reauthorization gap during this window. See the glossary for full definitions.

OpportunityStatusRecords
PA-22-176 unknown 86
PA-23-230 unknown 69
PA-21-259 unknown 38
PA-24-245 unknown 31
PAS-22-196 unknown 20
PA-22-178 unknown 18
RFA-DA-23-021 unknown 15
PA-23-231 unknown 15
PA-20-260 unknown 13
PA-24-247 unknown 12
PA-21-262 unknown 11
PA-20-272 unknown 10
PA-22-177 unknown 9
PAR-22-073 unknown 9
PA-23-232 unknown 8
RFA-DA-19-019 unknown 8
PA-20-262 unknown 8
PA-21-345 unknown 8
PAS-19-316 unknown 8
RFA-HL-23-009 unknown 6
PA-21-260 unknown 6
RFA-MD-23-003 unknown 4
PA-24-246 unknown 4
PA-25-212 unknown 4
PA-18-579 unknown 4
RFA-MD-24-006 unknown 3
RFA-CA-23-034 unknown 3
RFA-CA-22-017 unknown 3
PA-21-261 unknown 3
PAS-22-197 unknown 3
PA-18-574 unknown 3
PA-19-272 unknown 3
PA-23-233 unknown 2
PAR-24-131 expired 2
RFA-NS-23-007 unknown 2
RFA-DA-22-001 unknown 2
RFA-CA-22-025 unknown 2
RFA-NS-20-009 unknown 2
PA-19-273 unknown 2
RFA-MD-22-004 unknown 2
RFA-HL-23-008 unknown 1
RFA-DA-25-048 unknown 1
RFA-DA-25-052 unknown 1
PAR-21-265 unknown 1
RFA-DA-25-050 unknown 1
PA-22-179 unknown 1
RFA-ES-23-005 unknown 1
RFA-DA-24-018 unknown 1
PA-24-254 unknown 1
PAR-19-335 unknown 1
RFA-DA-19-020 unknown 1
RFA-MD-22-003 unknown 1
PAR-19-333 unknown 1
PAR-20-098 unknown 1
PA-18-871 unknown 1
RFA-ES-20-016 unknown 1
PAR-21-225 unknown 1
RFA-NS-20-011 unknown 1

Comparable funded projects

ApplIDFYICTitleOrganizationAmount
10710321 2025 NS Wearable Sensor and Digital Technologies for Quantitative Assessment and Remote Monitoring of Symptoms in Myasthenia Gravis BIOSENSICS, LLC $973,917
10932485 2025 DE RegendoGEL for guided pulp and dentin regeneration REGENDODENT, INC. $398,785
10933403 2025 CA Development of a Wearable Fluorescence Imaging Device for IntraoperativeIdentification of Brain Tumors BIOPTICSTECHNOLOGY, LLC $962,779
10997344 2025 AI A Vaccine for Lymphatic Filariasis, LFGuard™ PAI LIFE SCIENCES, INC. $452,996
10997404 2025 AI Recombinant Outer Membrane Vesicles as a Novel Adjuvant for a Malaria Vaccine VERSATOPE THERAPEUTICS, INC. $999,993
11001285 2025 AR Systemic Transplantation of MyoPAXon: IND Enabling Studies for the Treatment of DMD MYOGENICA INC. $1,266,814
11003734 2025 AI Chikungunya Recombinant Subunit Vaccine HAWAII BIOTECH, INC. $998,229
11005333 2025 AA Characterization of a novel non-hallucinogenic psilocybin derivative for alcohol use disorder TERP LIFE, LLC $320,263

Review panels that have appeared on these records

Panel names use NIH's Center for Scientific Review (CSR) format: a 2-4 letter study-section code plus a meeting-cycle number in parentheses (e.g. ISB (12) = Instrumentation and Systems Development, cycle 12). SBIR/STTR review groups are temporary, meeting-specific bodies. The names below describe panels that have appeared on the cited funded-project records, not where future applications get assigned. NIH assigns panels at the time of submission based on the application content.

Limitations

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