Simbex Press Release

SIMBEX PARTNERS WITH THE DARTMOUTH INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH POLICY AND CLINICAL PRACTICE AND THAYER SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING ON $3.4M NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE RESOURCE AWARD

Lebanon, NH- November 1, 2010 - Research and product development firm Simbex was awarded a $3.4M five year award from the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create the Center for Translation of Rehabilitation Engineering Advances and Technology (TREAT) as part of the NIH R24 network of rehabilitation research resource centers. Simbex will partner with The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI) and Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College to deliver technical and clinical services to the rehabilitation research community nationwide.

TREAT is a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, collaborative consortium among corporate, educational and non-profit entities that provides infrastructure support and expert consultation to researchers and innovators interested in the translation and commercialization of rehabilitation research applications.

"There is a critical gap in getting innovative rehabilitation technologies into both the clinical environment and for the consumer markets", said Principal Investigator, Simbex founder and President Richard Greenwald, PhD. "Together with our partners at TDI and Thayer School, we offer a unique team for providing services related to technology transfer and commercialization of rehabilitation technology to the community."

TREAT will provide services including technology assessment, intellectual property evaluation, concept prototyping and testing, market evaluation, and clinical trials development to enable product solutions for rehabilitation technology. TREAT will fund small pilot projects, provide on-site and web-based training and education modules, and offer direct technical and consulting services for rehabilitation researchers.

The slow adoption of technology into clinical practice is often a result of limited research on the comparative effectiveness of that new technology compared to the current standard of care. "In the current environment, it is important to get early, high-quality evidence about how new approaches will perform in the clinical setting so that patients and providers can make informed choices in order to get maximum value from their health care", commented Jon D. Lurie, MD, MS, co-Principal Investigator and Director of the Clinical Trials Unit at TDI.

Thayer School of Engineering assistant professors Sol Diamond, PhD and Doug van Citters, PhD provide access to a broad array of prototyping tools and educational modules that TREAT offers to its clients. "TREAT is a natural fit with the strengths of Thayer School in the areas of innovation and engineering in medicine. We are thrilled that our engineering students will be interacting with innovators from around the world to help translate important rehabilitation technologies into the marketplace", said Diamond.

The R24 network comprises seven centers around the US that provide infrastructure and access to expertise, technologies, and resources from scientific fields including neurosciences, engineering, applied behavior, and the social sciences. The goal of the program is to enhance the capability of medical rehabilitation investigators to understand mechanisms of functional recovery, develop therapeutic strategies, and improve the lives of people with disabilities. For more information, visit http://www.ncmrr.org

TREAT will begin soliciting pilot project applications in early 2011. "The services offered through TREAT are a logical extension of the research and development approach employed by Simbex for its own internal product developments. We are honored to be part of the NIH R24 network, and to serve the broader rehabilitation research community", said Greenwald.

For more information, please visit http://www.simbex.com/TREAT

About Simbex LLC
Simbex is a research and product development company whose core expertise is biomechanical feedback systems. The company develops marketable products and solutions from emerging technologies for active life improvement in the areas of prosthetics, sports injury prevention and rehabilitation. The founders are internationally recognized experts in their fields and have decades of experience in the area of functional evaluation and efficacy assessment of complex biomechanical systems for the sporting goods, orthopedic and exercise equipment industries. The research branch of the company is supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Defense. For further information about Simbex, visit the company's Web site at http://www.simbex.com.

About The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI) is a dynamic force within Dartmouth College, dedicated to improving health care through education, research, policy reform, leadership improvement, and communication with patients and the public. For further information, visit the TDI Web site at http://tdi.dartmouth.edu.

About Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth
Dedicated to solving global challenges, Thayer School facilitates learning and research at the intersection of disciplines--where innovation thrives. Undergraduates study engineering sciences as part of a liberal arts education; additional courses lead to the Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) degree. Graduate programs include the Master of Engineering Management (M.E.M.), M.S., Ph.D., dual degrees with Dartmouth Medical School, and the nation's first Ph.D. Innovation Program. Business Week ranks Thayer School as one of the world's top 60 design schools. For more information, visit the Thayer School Web site at http://engineering.dartmouth.edu