SBIR & STTR Topics for Medical Devices Companies in Tennessee

There are 14 open federal SBIR/STTR topics right now that match Medical Devices capabilities, across DOD, NIH, NSF, DOE, NASA, USDA, and 5 other agencies. Below: the current open topic list, recent Medical Devices winners headquartered in Tennessee, the Tennessee SBDC SBIR contact, and how TopicScout compares to SBIR.gov / Grants.gov / HigherGov / Instrumentl for finding the next topic to apply to.

Open Medical Devices topics (14)

1. Single Source: Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN) Data Coordinating Center (U01 Clinical Trial Required) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-07-07
   This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Single Source that will invite an application from the eligible organization to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer…
2. BRAIN Initiative: Next-Generation Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-09-28
   The purpose of this announcement is to encourage investigators to pursue translational activities and small clinical studies to advance the development of therapeutic, and diagnostic devices for disorders that affect the nervous or neuromus…
3. BRAIN Initiative: Clinical Studies to Advance Next-Generation Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System (UH3 Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2026-09-28
   The purpose of this announcement is to encourage investigators to pursue a small clinical trial to obtain critical information necessary to advance recording and/or stimulating devices to treat central nervous system disorders and better un…
4. DoW Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health, Clinical Trial Award — Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA · closes 2026-10-15
   Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health Research Program (TBIPHRP) Clinical Trial Award (CTA) intends to support clinical trials with the potential to have a significant impact on psychological h…
5. DoW Military Burn, Technology/Therapeutic Development Award — Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA · closes 2026-10-21
   Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Military Burn Research Program (MBRP) Technology/Therapeutic Development Award (TTDA) is a burn-focused, product-driven award mechanism intended to provide support for the translation of promising precli…
6. Translational Neural Devices (R61/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2027-01-28
   The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to encourage investigators to pursue translational activities and small clinical studies to advance the development of therapeutic, and diagnostic devices for disorders that affect…
7. BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (R61 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2027-02-11
   Invasive surgical procedures in humans offer the unique opportunity to intracranially record and stimulate neuronal activity within precisely localized brain structures, enabling high-impact human neuroscience investigations. This NOFO seek…
8. Catalyze: Product Definition Medical Device Prototype Optimization (R33 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2027-12-23
   The goal of the NHLBI Catalyze Program is to provide a comprehensive suite of support and services to facilitate the transition of basic science discoveries into viable diagnostic and therapeutic candidates that have been cleared for human …
9. Catalyze Product Definition Medical Device prototype design/testing and disease target identification and assay development (R61/R33 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2027-12-23
   The goal of the NHLBI Catalyze Program is to provide a comprehensive suite of support and services to facilitate the transition of basic science discoveries into viable diagnostic and therapeutic candidates that have been cleared for human …
10. Blueprint MedTech Translator (UG3/UH3 - Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2028-01-28
    The purpose of this announcement is to encourage investigators to pursue translational activities and clinical feasibility studies to advance the development of therapeutic, and diagnostic devices for disorders that affect the nervous or ne…
11. Development of Interventions to Prevent and Treat Substance Use Disorders and Overdose (UG3/UH3 - Clinical Trial Optional) — National Institutes of Health · closes 2028-08-21
    The purpose of this Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to solicit grant applications to support research on the discovery and development of interventions to prevent and/or treat substance use disorders (SUDs) and overdose, including medications…
12. Communications, Circuits, and Sensing-Systems — U.S. National Science Foundation · closes ongoing
    The Communications, Circuits, and Sensing-Systems (CCSS) Program supports innovative research in circuit and system hardware and signal processing techniques. CCSS also supports system and network architectures for communications and sensin…
13. Energy, Power, Control, and Networks — U.S. National Science Foundation · closes ongoing
    The Energy, Power, Control, andNetworks (EPCN) Program supports innovative research in modeling, optimization, learning, adaptation, and control of networked multi-agent systems, higher-level decision making, and dynamic resource allocation…
14. Engineering of Biomedical Systems — U.S. National Science Foundation · closes ongoing
    TheEngineering of Biomedical Systemsprogram is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which also includes: 1) theBiophotonicsprogram; 2) theBiosensingprogram; 3) theCellular and Biochemical Engineeringprogram; and 4) theDisabil…

Recent Medical Devices SBIR winners in Tennessee

1. YAYA SCIENTIFIC LLC (Nashville, Tennessee) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase II 2023, $998,991
   Real-time Multimodal Diffuse Reflectance and Polarization Imaging Based Nerve Identification in Surgical Field of View
2. VIRTUOSO SURGICAL, INC. (Nashville, Tennessee) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase II 2023, $913,993
   A Robotic System to Remove Bladder Tumors Intact: The Key to Making Lifesaving Treatment Decisions
3. DAXOR CORPORATION (Oak Ridge, Tennessee) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase I 2023, $305,000
   Precision Guidance of Resuscitation and Deresuscitation in Sepsis
4. ENDOTHEIA INC (Nashville, Tennessee) — Department of Health and Human Services Phase II 2023, $929,229
   Breaking the Scope Port Size Barrier: A New Kind of Endoscope that Removes Large Kidney Stones Rapidly

How to find SBIR topics: TopicScout vs alternatives

SBIR.gov is the canonical source — every SBIR/STTR topic posts there first. TopicScout's value isn't access; it's the cap-statement scoring + weekly digest so you stop scanning portals by hand. Try the free matcher against your statement — takes a paragraph, no signup.

FAQ

How do I find open SBIR topics for a Medical Devices company in Tennessee?

The canonical source is SBIR.gov, which lists every open SBIR/STTR topic across all 11 federal agencies. To filter to Medical Devices-relevant topics that match your specific tech, paste your capability statement into TopicScout's free matcher — it scores all open topics against your cap statement in ~60 seconds. Tennessee SBIR firms also get help from the Tennessee SBDC (TSBDC) and state matching-fund programs.

What's the best SBIR matching tool for Medical Devices startups?

For solo founders: TopicScout's $29/mo plan covers all 11 agencies with weekly AI-scored digests. For consulting firms supporting multiple clients: TopicScout institutional plan ($500–2k/mo flat) or HigherGov ($500–5k/yr). For nonprofits (not SBIR-eligible): Instrumentl. SBIR.gov itself is free but requires manual scanning.

Which agencies fund the most Medical Devices SBIR/STTR work?

Based on the current open topic list, the top agencies for Medical Devices are visible in the topic list above. Historically: DARPA + AFWERX + Navy SBIR for defense-adjacent Medical Devices, NIH + CDC for health-adjacent, NSF + DOE for foundational R&D.