Advanced Technology Program (ATP)

As part of the Commerce Department's Technology Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) works to promote U.S. economic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements, and standards. NIST carries out its mission through a portfolio of four major programs:

• Measurement and Standards Laboratories that provide technical leadership for vital components of the nation's technology infrastructure needed by U.S. industry to continually improve its products and services;
• a rigorously competitive Advanced Technology Program providing cost-shared awards to industry for development of high-risk, enabling technologies with broad economic potential;
• a grassroots Manufacturing Extension Partnership with a nationwide network of local centers offering technical and business assistance to smaller manufacturers; and
• a highly visible quality outreach program associated with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award that recognizes continuous improvements in quality management by U.S. manufacturers and service companies.

In fiscal year 1998, NIST is operating on a budget of about $790 million with nearly 3,300 staff members at its sites in Gaithersburg, Md., and Boulder, Colo. News and general information about NIST programs and services are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nist.gov, or you can call General Inquiries at (301) 975-6478 or e-mail: inquiries@nist.gov.

About the Advanced Technology Program

The ATP is a unique partnership between government and private industry to accelerate the development of high-risk technologies that promise significant commercial payoffs and widespread benefits for the economy. Managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the ATP encourages a change in how industry approaches R&D, providing a mechanism for industry to extend its technological reach and push out the envelope of what can be attempted.

The globalization of markets and the pace of changing technology continue to drive private R&D to narrower, shorter term investments to maximize returns to the company. Most private capital sources are reluctant to invest in anything less than a "sure thing." In sharing the relatively high development risk of technologies that potentially enable a broad range of new commercial opportunities, possibly across several industries, the ATP fosters projects with a high payoff for the nation as a whole, in addition to strong corporate rates of return. The ATP is designed to stimulate joint research ventures that link small, medium, and large suppliers and other organizations with end users to solve a generic problem common to all.

Workshop Background

Since 1994, the ATP has supported a focused program in Information Infrastructure for Healthcare (IIH) that addresses the innovation and re-engineering of information technology related to the medical facility and delivery system. Evolutionary changes and advances in medical informatics will move segmented applications of information systems toward a seamless information infrastructure. Overcoming the high technical risks in systems engineering will ensure the reliability, availability, maintainability, data integrity, and high level of confidence needed to make data available for every patient 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The technical goals of the ATP-IIH focused program are to help the U.S. healthcare industry develop new technologies for reliable storage and retrieval of complex medical information for varied applications; real-time, data-driven medical decisions; real-time data entry by mobile medical records with accuracy, speed, and security; and computer-based medical training, diagnostic, and reference tools. These technologies are being developed at each of the three consecutive levels:

• technologies to form the foundation of a private-sector-driven, nationwide information system, including tools for enterprise integration, domain identification, and business process modeling;
• technologies to make such a system efficient and user friendly, including computerized knowledge-based systems, digital libraries, and natural language processing; and
• applications that directly meet healthcare users' needs, such as clinical decision support systems and consumer health information and education systems.

Since the processing of information captures a significant percentage of the dollars spent on healthcare, achievement of the technical goals of this ATP focused program will foster domestic capability ultimately to develop products that will reduce healthcare costs, improve the quality of healthcare, and capture global market share of new and improved products and services.

To date, the ATP-IIH focused program has funded 32 industry-proposed and -executed projects with estimated ATP funds of $146.5 million and $149.2 million of industry-matching funds committed over five years.

Workshop Goal

This meeting will bring together all ATP project participants in the focused program, as well as other interested parties, to present overviews and demonstrations of the non-proprietary aspects of their research and development activities. This workshop will focus not only on the research and development efforts underway but also upon the business applications and commercialization plans of the technologies developed. The workshop objectives are to:

• inform the medical informatics and venture/financial capital communities of the progress to date in developing new technologies, as well as their commercial potential;
• promote cross-fertilization of concepts and efforts;
• promote strategic partnering between companies and other organizations in the medical informatics community;
• accelerate commercialization of promising technologies emerging from the research; and
• promote networking among ATP awardees and members of the user community.

Workshop Format

The workshop format will include two days of presentations of project advancements and demonstrations of project prototypes. These presentations and demonstrations will highlight potential uses of the technologies and associated commercial opportunities. The workshop will allow parties seeking commercialization and funding assistance, those wishing to establish contacts with potential customers, and those wishing to identify new investment opportunities to come together to satisfy mutual interests.

The morning of the first day of the meeting will feature keynote speakers addressing topics relevant to the future of information technologies for healthcare. Beginning in the afternoon of the first day and carrying over into the second day, representatives from each of the ATP-IIH projects will make a short presentation highlighting technical successes and, equally important, potential business opportunities. In addition to formal presentations, the agenda will include demonstrations of prototypes. There will be ample opportunities for networking and open discussion during the meeting. What will make this workshop different from the first one, held in October 1996, is that the audience focus this year will include emphasis on the commercial potential of the technologies under development, as well as technical successes.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and the meeting will adjourn by 5 p.m. on both days.

Location

The workshop will be held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Building (101), Green Auditorium, Gaithersburg, Maryland. Gaithersburg is located approximately 20 miles north of Washington, D.C.

General Information

Registration

The registration fee of $115 per person includes workshop materials, coffee breaks, and lunches. Registration can be done electronically via the Internet at:

Registration must be received by Tuesday, June 23, 1998, for your name to appear on the preliminary participant's list. All requests for cancellation and refund must be submitted to Tammie Grice, in writing, prior to June 23.

Accommodations

Workshop registration does not include your hotel reservation. A block of rooms has been reserved at the Gaithersburg Holiday Inn, (301) 948-8900, at a rate of $85, single or double, plus 12% tax. To register for a room, please send the enclosed hotel reservation form directly to the hotel, no later than Tuesday, June 23, 1998. After that date, the rooms will be released for general sale at the prevailing rates of the hotel. If you call in your reservation, please refer to the "NIST/ATP Healthcare Workshop."

Coffee Breaks and Lunches

Refreshments will be provided during coffee breaks. Lunch will also be provided each day.

Contacts

Registration Contact

Tammie Grice
NIST
Telephone: (301) 975-3883
Fax: (301) 948-2067
Email: tammie.grice@nist.gov

Technical Contacts

Bettijoyce Lide
NIST
Telephone: (301) 975-2218, Fax: (301) 926-9524
e-mail: bettijoyce.lide@nist.gov

Richard Spivack
NIST
Telephone: (301) 975-5063, Fax (301) 975-4776
e-mail: richard.spivack@nist.gov

Additional Information

For additional general information, or to add your name to the ATP mailing list, please contact the ATP:

Hotline: 800-ATP-FUND, or 800-287-3863
Worldwide Web: http://www.atp.nist.gov
Email: atp@nist.gov

Transportation

Super Shuttle, 1-800-258-3826, offers commercial van service from Dulles International, RonaldReagan Washington National, and Baltimore-Washington International airports to the Gaithersburg area. Suburban Airport Shuttle, (301) 279-2222, is available from Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports to Gaithersburg. Call for reservations.

The Washington Metro has subway service to Gaithersburg. The Metro System can be boarded at Washington National Airport. Take the Yellow Line train marked "Mount Vernon Square" to Gallery Place and transfer to the Red Line train marked "Shady Grove" to the Shady Grove station in Gaithersburg. Service is every six to fifteen minutes, depending on the time of day. Travel time from National to Shady Grove is approximately 50 minutes. Taxis are available from the Shady Grove Metro station to area hotels.

A NIST shuttle van operates for official visitors from the Shady Grove Metro Station to NIST. The van leaves the east side of the Shady Grove station on the quarter and three-quarter hour (e.g., 8:15, 8:45...4:45, 5:15).

Driving Instructions

To reach NIST:

From northbound I-270: take Exit 10, Rt. 117 West, Clopper Road. At the first traffic light on Clopper Road, turn left onto the NIST grounds.

From southbound I-270: take Exit 11B, Route 124 West, Quince Orchard Road. At the second traffic light, turn left onto Clopper Road. At the first traffic light on Clopper Road, turn right onto the NIST grounds.

To reach the Administration Building, turn left after passing the guard office. Signs will direct you to visitor parking.

To reach the Gaithersburg Holiday Inn:

Traveling north on I-270: take Exit 11, Rt. 124 East, Montgomery Village Avenue. At the second traffic light, turn left onto Rt. 355. The hotel will be on your right. Traveling south on I-270: use Exit 11A and follow the same directions.

Workshop and Hotel Registration

Register for Workshop

Register electronically for the ATP Healthcare Workshop via the Internet at:

or complete the enclosed registration form and return with payment, to:

ATP Public Healthcare Workshop July 8-9, 1998 Workshop Registration Form
last name
first name
title
organization
address
room or mail code
city, state, zip, country
telephone
facsimile
e-mail address
services

Registration Fee: Regular $115

Form of Payment (check or credit card):

• Check enclosed, payable to: NIST/ATP Healthcare Workshop
  Checks from outside the U.S.A. should be written on a U.S.A. bank.
• MasterCard, VISA, Discover Card, or Amex
  Card No.
  Expiration Date
  Authorized Signature
• Purchase Order No./Training Form: Enclose a copy or provide one on-site at registration; faxed copy unacceptable.

Requests for cancellation and refund must be received in writing by June 23, 1998.

Hotel Reservation

Please complete hotel reservation form and return by June 23, 1998 to:

Gaithersburg Holiday Inn
2 Montgomery Village Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 USA

Telephone: 301-948-8900 or Fax: 301-258-1940

ATP Healthcare Workshop July 8-9, 1998 Hotel Reservation Form
Arrival Date:
Departure Date:
last name
first name
title
organization
address
room or mail code
city, state, zip, country
telephone
facsimile
e:mail address
services

Form of Payment (check or credit card):

• Check enclosed, payable to: Gaithersburg Holiday Inn
  Checks from outside the U.S.A. should be written on a U.S.A. bank.
• Credit Card:
  

  Card Type (Master, VISA, Discover, or Amex)
  Card No.
  Expiration Date
  Authorized Signature

Request for cancellation and refund must be received in writing by June 23, 1998.

Rate: $85, single or double. All reservations must be received by June 23, 1998. Please apply 12% tax to the above rate. All reservations must be guaranteed with a one-night deposit. Reservation cancellations must be made 24 hours prior to the arrival date to receive a refund.

Date created: May 23, 1998
Last updated: May 6, 2003