dbaza, inc. | press release 11.11.2003

PITTSBURGH - November 11, 2003 - The Innovation Partnership has awarded dbaza a MicroGrant to assist in the preparation of a Small Business Innovation Grant (SBIR) that will be submitted to the National Institutes of Health for the creation of an interactive, educational product for adolescents with type 2 diabetes.

The Innovation Partnership is a collaboration of economic development agencies in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers, The Ben Franklin Technology Partnership, Catalyst Connection (based in Pittsburgh), Innovation Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Life Science Greenhouses. This partnership has been designed to increase both the quantity and the quality of the statewide SBIR proposals through marketing, proposal preparation and proposal assistance. The cornerstone of this program is a no-cost evaluation of a federal SBIR proposal concept from a minimum of three professional reviewers.

This is the first such grant awarded to dbaza.

This proposed product will provide interactive diabetes education to teens newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Formerly called adult-onset diabetes, this type of diabetes is strongly associated with obesity and has increased almost 300% since the early 1990's. According to one project reviewer, "This product will address an important gap in the medical treatment of type 2 diabetes by being tailored specifically to adolescents, the age group that is currently experiencing a growth in type 2 diabetes."

dbaza is a leader in the creation of technology-based educational products for individuals with chronic medical conditions. dbaza products improve the physical and emotional well being and quality of life of chronically ill people. Funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, dbaza product development is conducted by experts in medicine, education, psychology, the arts and human-computer interaction.