NSF Grants $225K to Integrate Graphene with Nexus Blockchain Protocol

By Fred Donovan

October 15, 2019 - The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $225,000 grant to integrate new Graphene technology with SimplyVital Health’s Nexus blockchain protocol.

Graphene is a block propagation technology that requires fewer network resources, boosting blockchain performance while reducing costs. Graphene blocks are a fraction of the size of other blockchain methods.

"NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by funding the most creative, impactful ideas," said Andrea Belz, director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. "With our support, deep technology startups can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs."

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The goal of SVH's work is to reduce healthcare costs by allowing data access through blockchain technology. Using its expertise in healthcare management and advanced technology, SVH provides a solution for data trust and quality, creating a path for secure access to data.

"This grant is transformative and endorses blockchain as a viable tool to re-engineer healthcare," said SVH CEO Kat Kuzmeskas. "We are thrilled to represent the NSF with our blockchain work."

The SVH award is part of the NSF’s America's Seed Fund, which awards $200 million annually to start-ups and small businesses in order to transform scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact.

By 2025, the use of blockchain in healthcare could save the industry $100 billion per year in costs related to infringements of IT, logistics, support functions, personnel and health data, according to a recent study by BIS Research.

For example, drug companies could benefit from using blockchain to track drugs, thus reducing the around $200 billion these companies lose from counterfeit drugs each year, the report noted.

Health insurance companies could gain from using blockchain to lower IT and operational costs for insurance process and health insurance fraud.

The research firm predicted that the global healthcare market will expand at an annual compound growth rate of 64 percent by 2025, hitting market value of $5.6 billion by that time.

Using healthcare blockchain for health data exchange is forecast to contribute the largest market share, approaching $1.9 billion by 2025. Blockchain could assist in addressing widespread problems in healthcare IT systems related to interoperability and non-standardization, the report observed.

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NSF Grants $225K to Integrate Graphene with Nexus Blockchain Protocol

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $225,000 grant to integrate new Graphene technology with SimplyVital Health’s Nexus blockchain protocol.

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