Paratus Digital Health Accelerator — Non-dilutive Funding
Challenge statement: Providing non-dilutive funding awards for proof-of-concept studies that support the development, evaluation and validation of wearable biosensors, focusing on the detection, triage or monitoring of emerging infectious diseases.
Overview
We invite startups and university-backed projects to apply for non-dilutive funding awards up to $180,000. This funding supports proof-of-concept studies supporting the development, evaluation or validation of innovative digital health solutions aligned with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s (BARDA) mission to enhance pandemic preparedness and health security.
The Paratus Digital Health Accelerator — powered by MATTER — provides funding and support services to help entrepreneurs with the development of the clinical, technical and business elements of their product and company. Uniquely, Paratus is able to connect innovators with mission-aligned study sites to support their solutions.
Technologies of Interest
- Wearable and minimally invasive biosensing technologies to detect early physiological or biochemical signatures of diseases such as influenza, other infectious diseases and chemical, biological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, enabling earlier diagnosis and intervention.
- Edge analytics, signal fusion and anomaly-detection capabilities that leverage data from wearables and other distributed sensors to provide timely, reliable insights for triage, exposure alerts, and clinical decision support.
- Interoperable and secure data integration platforms that enable ingestion, standardization and privacy-preserving exchange of wearable-derived data across clinical, public health and emergency response systems.
- Discovery, validation and application of digital biomarkers and predictive models that use longitudinal physiological, behavioral and contextual data to identify individuals at highest risk of deterioration, guide countermeasure deployment, and inform treatment strategies.
- Resilient deployment platforms for large-scale wearable monitoring that support rapid provisioning, calibration and sustained operation of sensors in austere or resource-limited settings, with robust logistics, connectivity and power solutions.
Timeline
- October 15, 2025: Preliminary applications open
- December 10, 2025: Information session webinar
- January 15, 2026: Preliminary applications close
- February 2, 2026: Invitations to submit full application
- February 27, 2026: Full applications close
- Spring 2026: Final negotiations
- Summer 2026: Awards, milestone-based funding and program services begin
Paratus Digital Health Accelerator — Non-dilutive Funding to address traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Challenge statement: Providing non-dilutive funding for advanced development of digital tools for assessing traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a medical consequence of nuclear detonation and other blast events.
Overview
We invite startups and university-backed projects to apply for non-dilutive funding ranging from $500,000 to $2,000,000 per project. This funding supports the advanced development of innovative digital health tools aligned with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s (BARDA) mission to advance products that address assessment of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) caused by nuclear detonation.
MATTER’s Paratus Digital Health Accelerator provides funding and support to help entrepreneurs develop the clinical, technical and business aspects of their solutions. Paratus also connects innovators with mission-aligned study sites to accelerate development and validation.
Who should apply?
We are seeking innovators building digital health tools that improve triage for suspected head injuries in prehospital settings and enable faster identification of acute TBI needing urgent care.
This global call welcomes companies, nonprofits and academic teams with proof of concept, evidence of demand or product–market fit and viable sustainability/commercialization potential. The base requirements for the program include the following:
- General: Digital health technology related to diagnosis and triage of suspected traumatic brain injury, ideally for both adult and pediatric populations.
- Technology maturity: At a minimum, data collection and analysis approach has been completed.
- Software Prototype Stage: $500k - $1M; approximately 12 month-long projects. Applicant has established their data collection and analysis approach, but additional software development, analytical validation, and data collection from a small number of TBI patients is needed to build their algorithm and prepare for a larger-scale data collection.
- Early Clinical Stage: up to $2M; approximately 12-24 months-long projects. Applicant has demonstrated proof-of-concept for their indication with a small number of TBI patients but expanded clinical data collection is needed to refine and test their algorithm, and to demonstrate the value of using their technology.
- Intended use: The solution should be usable by health care professionals, first responders and/or self-administered within 24-72 hours following the injury in a prehospital setting, with limited access to imaging and lab equipment. Results in 2-5 minutes.
- System/device architecture: Mobile medical application running on commonly available consumer technologies with limited auxiliary components. Compatible with popular operating systems and, ideally, interoperable with Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems.
For the full detail on program requirements, review BARDA’s official solicitation and desired product attributes.
Seeking: Innovative digital health solutions aligned with BARDA’s mission to enhance pandemic preparedness and fortify health security.
This program is seeking to accelerate digital health tools that enhance preparedness and response to public health emergencies due to:
- Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats
- Pandemic Influenza
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
Have a solution that doesn't quite fit?
If you are working on a solution for medical countermeasures, but don't see the right fit, we still value your solution and want to hear from you. Please fill out a preliminary application and we can assess your fit on an ad hoc basis.