Cell Phone as a Platform for Healthcare
Request for Proposals 2007

This RFP is now closed.

Background

At the current rate of population growth in developing nations, two billion people could be living in impoverished conditions without access to healthcare, education, or sanitation by the year 2030 according to the Department for International Development in the UK (DFID). The appropriate use of mobile information and communication technology (ICT), both hardware and software, has the potential to help mitigate some these growing problems. This RFP aims to encourage academic research into developing enabling technologies for healthcare.

A natural convergence is occurring due to an increasing number of inexpensive cell phones and a variety of medical sensor devices. Gartner’s study (August 1, 2007) ‘Forecast: Mobile Services, Worldwide, 2002-2011’ estimates that worldwide cell phone usage will top 3.5 billion connections by 2008 with the highest annual growth rates in Asia and Africa. We see this phenomenon as a potential catalyst to facilitate the delivery of healthcare ICT solutions for under-served rural and urban communities.

This worldwide RFP seeks to incubate creative and novel healthcare solutions that are accessible, affordable, and relevant for ‘smart’ mobile phones. An additional focus is the creation of appropriate services, systems, and infrastructures to provide solutions to the global healthcare community. We feel that cell phones and inexpensive, commonly available sensor devices have an opportunity to reach people who until now have not previously had access to technology-based healthcare solutions.

Goals & Objectives

Microsoft Research will support selected academic research with the goal of advancing the state-of-the-art in ‘smart’ cell phones for healthcare applications. Successful projects must seek to increase the capacity of cell phone-based healthcare solutions in under-served rural and urban communities. They must also take into consideration the social context of application deployment.

Healthcare Application Development Areas

Topics to consider include:

• What medical applications are relevant, worldwide, for ‘smart’ mobile phones (application and Web-enabled) in rural, and urban, communities?
• What are the appropriate services and infrastructures needed to provide affordable and accessible healthcare services?

The healthcare applications must address one or more of the following areas:

Data Collection and Manipulation: How can data be best aggregated, modeled, and utilized to provide appropriate healthcare services? Solutions should consider how data is best stored, accessed, and applied.

Medical Sensors: What medical sensors should be developed and/or deployed? What is needed to enable communication between sensors and cell phones? What barriers (e.g., regional, cultural, governmental, physical, etc.) exist to field deployment of sensors and how might they be addressed?

Privacy and Data Protection: How do you best protect users’ medical information? When does providing care override the need for data confidentiality, and how is that transition managed?

Networking, Protocols, and Power Consumption: How can connectivity in support of medical services be provided in a low-cost and highly-available manner over a wide area? How can system availability be ensured?

Human-Computer Interaction: Solutions should consider the language, exposure, and educational barriers of healthcare providers. Which mobile applications and user interfaces are effective for the target communities?

Social Context: How can medical-support technology integrate into local cultures in an appropriate way? Explorations would include, but not be limited, to:

• social networking
• human factors
• natural languages
• speech recognition
• voice-activated systems
• semantics

Awards

The total amount available under this request for proposals (RFP) is $1,000,000. Microsoft Research anticipates making approximately 10-12 awards averaging $80,000, with a maximum of $100,000 for any single award. All awards will be made in $US. Awards are generally made as unrestricted gifts to the institution. Outside the United States other local restrictions may apply to the terms of the award. For current policy regarding non-U.S. countries, please refer to http://research.microsoft.com/ur/us/fundingopps/faq.aspx.

For all awards, payment of indirect costs (“overhead”) is not permitted.

Microsoft Research will take into account the reasonableness of the amount requested in any proposal in light of stated deliverables, local costs, etc., and reserves the right to fund proposals at an amount lower than requested if appropriate.

Awards are made for the purpose of seed-funding larger initiatives, proofs of concept, or demonstrations of feasibility. It is important to understand that funding will continue after the first year only in exceptional circumstances, and that the principal investigators should therefore make every effort to leverage Microsoft Research funds as one component of a diverse funding base in a larger or longer-running project.

Eligibility

Conditions of eligibility listed below will be strictly adhered to, so please read them carefully. Proposals not meeting all these criteria will not be considered.

1. The proposing institution must be either:
   1. An accredited degree-granting college or university (or international equivalent) with non-profit status and awarding degrees at the baccalaureate level or above.
   2. A research institution with non-profit status.
2. All qualifying institutions are eligible without regard for geographic location.
3. An institution will be awarded a maximum of one gift per RFP, regardless of the number of proposals submitted from the institution. In the case of an RFP with multiple tracks, a maximum of one gift per RFP track will be awarded to the same institution. Collaborative proposals embracing multiple groups across the organization are encouraged.
4. Proposals that are incomplete, inaccurate, request funds in excess of the maximum award available, or are otherwise not responsive to the stated aims, terms and conditions of this RFP will, at the sole discretion of Microsoft Research, be excluded from consideration.
5. Proposals from or on behalf of persons participating in the evaluation process for this RFP will not be considered.
6. Proposals should evidence a commitment to make all results arising from a funded project (including all intellectual property in those results) broadly available by either: (i) dedicating such results to the public domain (for example though publishing); or (ii) making the results available under a non-restrictive license that allows modification and redistribution without any significant restrictions or conditions, including so-called “reach through” provisions that require publication of source code. An example of an acceptable license is the BSD license available at http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.html, whereas the widely-used GPL and LGPL licenses are not acceptable.
7. Proposals should evidence willingness to contribute any resulting curriculum material to the MSDN Academic Alliance Repository at http://www.msdnaacr.net/curriculum/facetmain.aspx.
8. The receiving institution must agree that awards made as unrestricted gifts, will not be subject to indirect costs or overhead charges and these may not be included in the budget for the proposed project.
9. While the use of Microsoft technologies is not a condition of this RFP, any proposal relying exclusively on non-Microsoft technologies should provide a justification for why this must be the case. Please note that ordinary use of Microsoft Office applications will not be compelling in itself, although innovative uses of Office applications (or the use of applications such as SQLServer, Visual Studio, C#, .NET and Windows Presentation Foundation) are acceptable and encouraged. We are not able to provide support for the development of exclusively Java or LINUX-based applications. Use of non-Microsoft applications on Windows, cross-platform development, and interoperability with other operating systems and applications are all encouraged.

Submission Process

Proposals will be accepted in electronic form only at http://microsoft.redwhale.com. Proposals submitted to Microsoft Research will not be returned. Microsoft Research cannot assume responsibility for the confidentiality of information in submitted proposals. Therefore, proposals should not contain information that is confidential, restricted or sensitive. Microsoft Research reserves the right to make public proposals that receive awards, except those portions containing budgetary or personally identifiable information.

The submission process includes two parts.

1. Brief summary and contact information. Applicants must provide full contact information for principal investigators, amount requested and a brief abstract. This information should be entered into the Web forms during the proposal submission process.
2. Complete proposal containing full detail on the proposed project. 7 pages maximum, 10pt. font or larger, double-spaced, in either Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Proposals should address each of the items listed below under separate numbered headings.

1. Problem Statement: What is the problem or curriculum area addressed by the proposal and why is it important? What is the potential contribution to the field of the project if successful? Cite relevant work in the field as appropriate.
2. Expected Outcomes: What tangible assets, if any, will be created or produced as a result of the proposed project? How will the results of this project be disseminated to others?
3. Schedule: When is the project to be completed? What milestones will be used to measure progress of the project and when will they be completed? (If the project described is part of a larger ongoing research program, estimate the time for completion of this project only).
4. Use of Funds: Provide a budget ($US) describing how the award will be used, including purchases of hardware or software, salaries, and other costs. Microsoft software or licenses requested should be listed in the budget, but the cost should be given as zero dollars. The budget does not have to be detailed, and should be presented as a table with the total budget request clearly indicated. Please note that, because awards are made as unrestricted gifts, Microsoft policy prohibits the payment of indirect cost (“overhead”).
5. Use of Microsoft Technologies: Describe the Microsoft tools and technologies (if any) to be used in this project. Research proposals are encouraged to utilize the included Microsoft resources and platforms (see Additional Resources Section for details). While use and fluency with Microsoft platforms is among the selection criteria, platform selections are not a condition for eligibility. If software is to be developed, give details of the tools to be used, the number of software developers and the proposed timescale. Does the software to be developed require the incorporation of code from commercial or public-domain libraries? If so, please give details.
6. Related Research: Give a brief summary of the current state of the art in this field, including references where appropriate.
7. Dissemination and Evaluation: How will the results of this project be evaluated (if appropriate), and how will they be disseminated to others? Under what general license terms will the results be made available?
8. Other Support: Including other contributions to this project (cash, goods or services), if any, but not including such things as use of university facilities otherwise provided on an ongoing basis. Please note: The authors of winning proposals will be required to submit an original letter on department letterhead certifying the commitment of any additional or matching support described in the proposal.
9. Qualifications of Principal Investigator: Include a brief description of any relevant prior research, teaching, publication or other professional experience. A detailed vita or list of publications is not required.
10. Benefit to Under-served Communities: Include a statement of the profile of the community served by the proposal and how the project addresses healthcare issues and challenges in that community. If applicable, also include references to collaborations with NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) working on healthcare challenges in the target community.
11. Testing and Deployment: In the case of proposals for the creation of specific healthcare solutions, include a statement of the plans for a test deployment and evaluation.

Selection Process and Criteria

All proposals received will be reviewed by Microsoft Research and eligible proposals will be evaluated by a panel of subject-matter experts chosen by Microsoft Research. Based on evaluations by the review panel, Microsoft Research will select the most worthy proposals for funding. Microsoft Research reserves the right to fund winning proposals at an amount greater or less than the amount requested, up to the stated maximum amount for individual awards. Due to the volume of submissions, Microsoft Research cannot provide individual feedback on proposals that are not funded.

Authors (including co-investigators) of winning proposals will be required to grant Microsoft permission for the use of their name, image, institutional affiliation and related professional information in press releases or other forums for publication of their award. Microsoft Research may also request assistance with the preparation of posters, slides or other materials, and periodic reports on the status of funded projects.

All proposals will be evaluated based upon the following criteria:

• Well-defined goals and objectives that, if achieved, have the potential to have a significant impact on the integration of utilizing the cell phone as a platform for Healthcare. These goals must be achievable within the timescale of the funded project, and where appropriate placed into the context of milestones in a larger or longer-running project.
• Potential for wide dissemination and use of intellectual property created, including specific plans for publications, conference presentations, distance learning, etc., as well as plans to distribute content in multiple formats or languages.
• Ability to complete the project including the adequacy of resources available, reasonableness of timelines, and number and qualifications of identified contributors.
• Qualifications of principal investigator including previous history of work in the area, successful completion of previous funded projects, teaching awards, books published, etc.
• Use of Microsoft tools and technologies: proposals should clearly indicate the Microsoft tools and technologies to be used in the project, or if no such technologies can be used, a clear statement should be made why this is the case.
• Leveraging of other resources: preferential consideration will be given to proposals utilizing additional sources of funding to build larger or longer-running projects and/or leveraging other projects or resources in the field.

Schedule and Deadlines

Additional Resources

In addition to fiscal support, all award recipients will receive a “Cell Phone as a Platform RFP Technology Resource Kit.” The most currently shipping version of each of the following is provided in the kit:

• Windows Mobile 6 Professional
• Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2005 (5 copies). “Visual C++ Smart Device Programmability", which is an option of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Setup, must be selected and installed during Visual Studio 2005 installation
• .NET Compact Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2 Redistributable
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition
• Microsoft SQL Server
• Active Sync
• Several prototype Windows Mobile cell phones with TV-out and USB hub capability when docked to a cradle. The cell phone is able to drive a display on TV with NTCS/PAL output at a resolution of 640x 480 pixels. The USB hub allows the connection of USB keyboard, mouse and potentially other accessories such as sensors. It is envisioned that such a cell phone will allow health care providers to access and collect information while in the field.

Please address any questions to “erpinq@microsoft.com”. Please put “Cell Phone as a Platform for Healthcare” in the subject line of your e-mail message to ensure a prompt and proper response.

Microsoft Word version of this document