at Brooks City-Base, TX
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The US Air Force Research Laboratory awarded 6 contracts worth a combined $558 million for administrative and functional support, medical and biomedical research assistance, clinical and clinical hyperbaric medicine services, environmental bio-terrorism support, technology evaluation and research studies support services at Brooks City-Base, TX and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH.
Brooks City-Base is home to the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM), [pdf] which is a center for aerospace medical learning, consultation, aerospace medical investigations and aircrew health assessments. The school operates a hyperbaric medicine chamber, which exposes patients to large amounts of oxygen to enrich blood and increase the body’s ability to heal.
The winners of the medical research support contracts are:
* Peerless Technologies Corp. in Fairborn, OH (FA8650-10-D-6051);
* Decypher Technologies in San Antonio, TX (FA8650-10-D-6052);
* P3S Corp. in San Antonio, TX (FA8650-10-D-6053);
* Prairie Quest in Ft. Wayne, IN (FA8650-10-D-6054);
* Solutions Through Innovative Technologies in Tulsa, OK (FA8650-10-D-6055); and
* SpecPro Technical Services in San Antonio, TX (FA8650-10-D-6056)
The USAFSAM trains approximately 6,000 USAF, US Department of Defense, and international medical students annually. The school uses simulators, live subjects and in-residence training at 3 trauma centers to prepare medics for contingency operations and rapid evacuation worldwide.
In addition, the USAFSAM’s laboratories process more than 45,000 lab samples per week, conducting virology and bacteriology studies as a part of US epidemiological surveillance activity. This research is used to improve the understanding and response to bio-terrorism attacks.
The USAF plans to move the USAFSAM from Brooks City-Base to Wright-Patterson AFB in 2011 as part of a reorganization that puts the school under the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Each company’s contract is worth $93 million. At this time, $670,713 has been obligated. The Air Force Resarch Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base manages the contracts.