[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 69 (Thursday, April 10, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17626-17627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9238]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (DHHS)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)


National Library of Medicine (NLM); Opportunity for a Cooperative 
Research and Development Agreement for Research and Development of Data 
Mining, Data Warehousing and Visualization Techniques to Commercial 
Products

AGENCY: Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications, NLM, 
NIH, DHHS.

ACTION: Advertisement.

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SUMMARY: The Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications 
(LHNCBC), an R&D division of the National Library of Medicine, seeks a 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with a software 
company with a reputation in the software engineering research and 
development and marketing communities as demonstrated by the quality of 
its information products and successful application of sophisticated 
statistical or machine learning methods to commercial products. Of 
particular interest is application of data mining, data warehousing and 
visualization techniques to areas of interest including drug design, 
medical care, fraud detection, and medical administration.
    The Collaborator must be able to collaborate with NLM staff to 
produce high quality information products. The Collaborator must have a 
demonstrated record of success in privately producing and marketing 
information resources.
    The term of the CRADA will be up to five (5) years.

DATES: Interested parties should notify this office in writing of their 
interest in filing a formal proposal no later than June 9, 1997, and 
then will have an additional thirty (30) days to submit a formal 
proposal.

ADDRESSES: Inquires and proposals regarding this opportunity should be 
addressed to Jeremy A. Cubert, M.S., J.D. (Tel. #301-496-0477, FAX 
#301-402-2117), Office of Technology Development, National Cancer 
Institute, 6120 Executive Blvd., Suite 450, Rockville, MD 20852. 
Inquiries regarding obtaining patent license(s) needed for 
participation in the CRADA opportunity may be addressed to John Fahner-
Vihtelic, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institute of Health, 
6011 Executive Blvd., Suite 325, Rockville, MD 20852, Phone: (301) 496-
7735 (ext. 285); FAX: (301) 402-0220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A CRADA is the anticipated joint agreement 
to be

[[Page 17627]]

entered into by LHNCBC pursuant to the Federal Technology Transfer Act 
of 1986, as amended by the National Technology Transfer Act (Pub. L. 
104-113 (1996)) and by Executive Order 12591 of April 10, 1987. The 
Computer Science Branch, LHNCBC, NLM is presently developing a system 
to automate key decisions in the design and execution of machine 
learning applications. The system, termed ``cultural coevolution'' 
(COEV), uses object oriented intelligent agent techniques to 
synergistically integrate many different machine learning approaches 
into a single framework. The described methods are the subject of a 
provisional patent application (60/018,191) filed by the Government.
    Under the present proposal, the goal of the CRADA will be the 
development of the following parameters:
     Improved speed of the algorithm;
     Improved portability of the system;
     Integration of ``data warehousing'' functions to enable 
compatibility with a wide variety of database formats, remedy gaps or 
errors in the data (``data cleaning'') and to identify target concepts 
for learning;
     Development of a user interface to enable system set up 
and configuration, monitor algorithm progression, adjust the algorithm 
as necessary, and display the results in a comprehensive and useful 
format.

Party Contributions

    The role of the LHNCBC includes the following:
    (1) Provide Collaborator with COEV system information necessary for 
the further development of the COEV system;
    (2) Provide staff, expertise, and materials for the further 
development of the COEV system;
    (3) Evaluate the work product of Collaborator to ensure progress 
toward meeting the CRADA goals; and
    (4) Provide work space and equipment for production and testing of 
any components or improvements of the COEV system.
    The role of the successful Collaborator will include the following:
    (1) Provide funding, if and as necessary, in support of the 
development of the COEV system;
    (2) Provide expertise and assistance in the production and 
marketing of any products resulting from this CRADA;
    (3) Provide staff, expertise, and materials for the development of 
the COEV system under this CRADA; and
    (4) Provide quality assurance testing, operator training, and user 
support for any products resulting from this CRADA.

Selection Criteria

    Proposals submitted for consideration should fully address each of 
the following qualifications:

(1) Expertise

    A. Demonstrated expertise in translating sophisticated statistical 
or machine learning methods to successful products;
    B. Demonstrated expertise in software engineering, data 
warehousing, data visualization;
    C. Demonstrated ability to secure national and international 
marketing and distribution of software;
    D. Demonstrated expertise in overseeing all aspects of product 
development;
    E. Demonstrated intellectual ability to guide development of 
product line which addresses the requirement of LHNCBC;
    F. Demonstrated expertise in serving and supporting a significant 
client base; and
    G. Familiarity with application of data mining techniques to 
biomedical fields.

(2) Reputation

    The successful Collaborator must be recognized in the software 
industry for:
    A. Producing, marketing and supporting data mining and related 
applications;
    B. Indications of high levels of satisfaction by software experts 
and users of data mining products and;
    C. The range of products and services it produces.

(3) Physical Resources

    A. An established headquarters with offices, space, and equipment;
    B. Access to the organization during business hours by telephone, 
mail, e-mail, the Internet, and other evolving technologies; and
    C. Sufficient financial and technological resources to support, at 
a minimum, the current activities of the CRADA to meet the needs of 
LHNCBC.

    Dated: April 1, 1997.
Thomas D. Mays,
Director, Office of Technology Development, National Cancer Institute, 
National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 97-9238 Filed 4-9-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M