[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 93 (Monday, May 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28391-28392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-11591]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for ``Ocular 
Imaging Challenge''

AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Award Approving Official: Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator 
for Health Information Technology.

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

SUMMARY: The ``Ocular Imaging Challenge'' is a multidisciplinary call 
to innovators and software developers to create an application that 
improves interoperability among office-based ophthalmic imaging 
devices, measurement devices, and EHRs.
    Documentation of the typical ophthalmology examination in an 
electronic health record (EHR) continues to be challenging. This 
creates barriers to full acceptance and use of EHRs within the medical 
community. Data and images are often stored on the acquisition devices 
in proprietary databases and file formats, and therefore have limited 
connectivity with EHR systems and ophthalmology-specific picture 
archiving and communication systems (PACS). There are often problems 
with redundant entry of demographic and clinical data into devices, 
data transfer from devices to EHRs and PACS without proprietary 
interfaces, workflow challenges, and difficulty connecting systems from 
different vendors. These same challenges occur in a plurality of other 
medical specialties that employ office-based testing and measurement. 
Given this fact, there is every expectation that the success of this 
challenge will be translatable to practices that use imaging and 
measurement devices such as otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose, and 
throat), physiatry (physical medicine and rehabilitation), and 
cardiology, among others.
    The statutory authority for this challenge competition is Section 
105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-
358).

DATES: Effective on May 14, 2012. Challenge submission period ends 
November 9, 2012, 11:59 p.m. et.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Wong, 202-720-2866; Wil Yu, 202-
690-5920

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Subject of Challenge Competition

    The ``Ocular Imaging Challenge'' is a multidisciplinary call to 
innovators and software developers to create an application that 
improves interoperability among office-based ophthalmic imaging 
devices, measurement devices, and EHRs. This application should:
     Convert output from legacy ophthalmic imaging and 
measurement devices from proprietary formats to vendor-neutral standard 
formats (e.g. using freeware DICOM tools)
     Archive data from multiple imaging and measurement devices
     Display images and data for clinicians, and permit basic 
functionalities such as optimizing viewing parameters (e.g. brightness, 
contrast, color, zoom, pan)
     Integrate with existing EHRs (e.g. ``single sign-on'')
     Where applicable, leverage and extend NwHIN standards and 
services including, but not limited to, transport (Direct, web 
services), content (Transitions of Care, CCD/CCR), and standardized 
vocabularies

Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Competition

    To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual 
or entity--
    (1) Shall have registered to participate in the competition under 
the rules promulgated by the Office of the National Coordinator for 
Health Information Technology.
    (2) Shall have complied with all the requirements under this 
section.
    (3) In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and 
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the 
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, 
shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
    (4) May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within 
the scope of their employment.
    (5) Shall not be an HHS employee working on their applications or 
submissions during assigned duty hours.
    (6) Shall not be an employee of Office of the National Coordinator 
for Health IT.
    (7) Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES 
Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their 
grant award.
    (8) Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract 
to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in 
support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.
    An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the 
individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal 
employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made 
available to all individuals and entities participating in the 
competition on an equitable basis.
    Entrants must agree to assume any and all risks and waive claims 
against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the 
case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of 
property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or 
consequential, arising from my participation in this prize contest, 
whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or 
otherwise.
    Entrants must also agree to indemnify the Federal Government 
against third party claims for damages arising from or related to 
competition activities.

Registration Process for Participants

    To register for this challenge participants should:
    [ssquf] Access the www.challenge.gov Web site and search for the 
``Ocular Imaging Challenge''.
    [ssquf] Access the ONC Investing in Innovation (i2) Challenge Web 
site at:
     [cir] http://www.health2con.com/devchallenge/challenges/onc-i2-challenges/.
     [cir] A registration link for the challenge can be found on the 
landing page under the challenge description.

Amount of the Prize

    [ssquf] First Prize: $100,000
    [ssquf] Second Prize: $35,000
    [ssquf] Third Prize: $15,000
    Awards may be subject to Federal income taxes and HHS will comply 
with IRS withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.

Payment of the Prize

    Prize will be paid by contractor.

Basis Upon Which Winner Will Be Selected

    The ONC review panel will make selections based upon the following 
criteria:
    [ssquf] Breadth of input devices and formats

[[Page 28392]]

     [cir] The solution will accept output from a wide range of 
ophthalmic devices and input formats, and convert to standard DICOM 
formats (e.g. using freeware tools).
    [ssquf] Usability and interface for image viewing
     [cir] The solution will have an easy-to-use interface for 
clinicians with a range of experience and comfort level with 
technology.
     [cir] The solution will provide the ability to view and annotate 
diagnostic-quality ophthalmic images.
    [ssquf] Integration with workflow
     [cir] The solution will be convenient to integrate into clinical 
ophthalmology workflow, to install on existing office hardware 
platforms, and to integrate with existing EHR systems (e.g. ``single 
sign-on'').
    [ssquf] Platform Neutrality

Additional Information

    Ownership of intellectual property is determined by the following:
    [ssquf] Each entrant retains title and full ownership in and to 
their submission. Entrants expressly reserve all intellectual property 
rights not expressly granted under the challenge agreement.
    [ssquf] By participating in the challenge, each entrant hereby 
irrevocably grants to Sponsor and Administrator a limited, non-
exclusive, royalty free, worldwide, license and right to reproduce, 
publically perform, publically display, and use the Submission to the 
extent necessary to administer the challenge, and to publically perform 
and publically display the Submission, including, without limitation, 
for advertising and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.

    Dated: May 7, 2012.
Farzad Mostashari,
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2012-11591 Filed 5-11-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-45-P