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SBIR and STTR Success Story for Talisman Limited (Information Posted/Updated on 12/04/2007) |
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Talisman Limited 421 F Church Street NE Vienna, VA 22180 Contact: Paul D Cumming, PhD Phone: 703-938-0300 Fax: 703-242-4282 E-mail: pc@talmed.com Web Site: http://www.talmed.com |
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Project Title: Paperless Quality Donor System with Decision Making |
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| Related Award(s): R44 HL072635 | |
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Technology Developed:
Talisman has developed a US Food & Drug Administration 510(k) cleared production line automated health interviewing system using audio-visual touch-screen computer assisted self interviewing (AVT-CASI) technology and trade marked it as the Quality Donor System (QDS) (tm). It utilizes a questionnaire standardized by the AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks). QDS was initially installed in a Midwest blood center in 2001. Since then it has been installed and is operational at four additional centers and has assisted in screening over 400,000 blood donations as required by the FDA.
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| Key Words: CASI, AVT-CASI , automated interviewing, blood donors, error reduction , honesty, staff satisfaction, donor satisfaction. | |
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Uses of Technology/Products/Service:
As noted above, the Quality Donor System (QDS)(tm) is installed at five US blood centers and has been used to screen over 400,000 blood donations. It is the only such interviewing system in large scale use. QDS has been shown in referred scientific publications to vastly increase both donor and staff satisfaction with this highly personal process, reduce US FDA reportable errors by over 60%, increase donor reporting of transmissible disease risky behaviors by a factor of 9 and reduce staff interviewing time by 5 minutes per donation. Organizations currently utilizing QDS are the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, Davenport, IA; the West Tennessee RBC, Jackson, TN; Lifeblood - Mid-South RBC, Memphis, TN; LifeShare Blood Centers, Shreveport, LA; and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH. Collectively they have over 50 fixed sites and 100 mobile operations using QDS daily to screen 100% of donations. QDS has recently been expanded to record mini-physical and phlebotomy data, present informed consent statements to donors, and capture donor and staff signatures. These changes are expected to increase FDA reportable error reductions to over 90%.
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Benefit to Company:
The SBIR program has allowed Talisman to expand from a staff of two people to seven highly skilled professionals and to develop the Quality Donor System (QDS) (tm) to the point it could obtain US Food & Drug Administration 510(k) clearance to be marketed and operated in blood centers. Without SBIR funding it is very unlikely that this innovative cost-effective error reduction and safety enhancing technology would have ever been marketed thus there could not have been scientific proof of the superiority of the technology over paper and face-to-face health interviewing. Talisman's market share is currently over 90% and licensing revenues are about $200,000/yr. Revenues are expected to reach $1 M in two or three years.
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How Product Was Commercialized:
The product was commercialized by obtaining research partners to install and operate the system, and produce related performance statistics, in exchange for very low cost licenses. As noted above, commercialization required US Food & Drug Administration 510(k) authorization to market. Obtaining this clearance is a long and technically complex process the mastering of which would not have been possible without SBIR funding. Talisman's strategy is to be first with the best forever and that requires ever more FDA clearances. A new FDA 510(k) clearance for an Internet Donor version of QDS (iQDS) is currently in process. It will permit prospective blood donors to conduct the screening interview from any place with a broadband connection and complete it at the drawing location. This product is highly sought by employers who view it as saving about five minutes of time away from work stations. Tests have shown that donors prefer iQDS even more than QDS. Earlier this year Talisman hired a full time staff member to launch a promotional campaign to acquire new blood center customers. The program is beginning to bear fruit in the form of new QDS contracts.
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Other Comments Related to Company's Success Story:
In 2006, Talisman Ltd was honored to receive an SBIR/STTR Tibbetts Award. The company continues to develop and market high-tech, but user-friendly medical and automated interviewing products.
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| Past R&D and/or Sales from this Project: $1,000,000 | |
| Estimated Future Annual R&D and/or Sales from this Project: $2,000,000 | |
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