SBIR-STTR Award

(adapted from applicant's abstract): The applicant proposes to utilize the multimedia and hypertext-media capabilities of the World Wide Web to develop a complete, comprehensive set of resources for scientific and medical disciplines that are subsumed within the field of sleep. These resources will be made available on the World Wide Web under the name "Sleep Home Pages." The Sleep Home Pages will constitute what is called a Web Storefront or Mall that will provide "one- stop shopping" for all sleep and sleep-related information. Included within the Sleep Home Pages will be Discussion Forums, a Placement Service, a Calendar of Events, Reviews of Current Literature, etc. All major Sleep Societies in every part of the world will have their own "Section" as will sleep support groups, such as the National Sleep Foundation. Individuals will be able to register for meetings and submit their abstracts via the Sleep Home Page; they will also be able to view abstracts prior to the meeting. Updated bibliographic data will be made available each week, and specialized search engines will be developed for retrospective literature retrieval. Individual laboratories and clinics will also be able to present information about their activities, publications, personnel, etc., as part of the Sleep Home Pages. "Sections" of the Sleep Home Page will be linked to each other and to sleep-related information on other computers throughout the world. Thus, the Sleep Home Page will be a single source gateway on the World Wide Web for the field of sleep. A determination will be made of the "feasibility" of presenting the Sleep Home Pages on the World Wide Web, and an evaluation of their "technical merit" and the quality of performance" will be performed. The successful completion of Phase I will be the basis for a Phase II SBIR application in which the Sleep Home Pages will be evaluated and developed vis-a-vis their ability to generate income sufficient to sustain their commercial independence. In the future, the applicant hopes that the prototype of a scientific Web Storefront that is being developed for the sleep field can be used for other scientific fields. For example, WebSciences already has presented a substantial site for the Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms. WebScience has also received a request from the International Bureau for Epilepsy and the International League Against Epilepsy to submit a comprehensive proposal for the field of epilepsy that would mirror that described in this proposal for the Sleep Home Pages. Thus, the applicant hopes that the successes of the Sleep Home Pages will lead to the generation of similar projects and services in other scientific fields.

Thesaurus Terms:
Internet, biomedical resource, computer system design /evaluation, information dissemination, mental health information system, sleep information retrieval, literature citation, online computer, social support network behavioral /social science research tagNational Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

The rich multimedia and hypertext-media capabilities of the World Wide Web will be used to develop a complete, comprehensive set of resources for the scientific and medical disciplines that are subsumed within the field of sleep. These resources will be made available on the World Wide Web under the name "Sleep Home Pages". The Sleep Home Pages will constitute what is called a Web Storefront or Mall that will provide "one-stop shopping" for all sleep and sleep-related information. Included within the Sleep Home Pages will be Sleep Newsletters, Discussion Forums, Placement Service, Calendar of Events, reviews of Current Literature, etc. All major sleep societies in every part of the world will have their own "Section" as will sleep support groups, such as the National Sleep Foundation. Individuals will be able to register for meetings and submit their abstracts via the Sleep Home Pages. Updated bibliographic data will be made available each week and specialized search engines will be available for retrospective literature retrieval. Individual laboratories and clinics will also be able to present information about their activities, publications, personnel, etc., as part of the Sleep Home Pages. "Sections" of the Sleep Home Pages will be linked to each other and to sleep-related information on other computers throughout the world. Thus, the Sleep Home Pages will be a single source gateway on the World Wide Web for the field of sleep. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: We anticipate that the primary commercial contributions to the Sleep Home Pages will arise from sponsorships and advertising by pharmaceutical companies that distribute hypnotic medications and sleep-related equipment companies. In addition, financial support will be provided by societies, individuals, laboratories and clinics. A description of the current and potential sources of funding are presented following each section of the Sleep Home Pages, which are presented in D. Experimental Design and Methods.

Thesaurus Terms:
Internet, biomedical resource, computer system design /evaluation, information dissemination, mental health information system, sleep information retrieval, literature citation, online computer, sleep disorder, social support networkNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH