Paragon‘s patented Autonomous Biological System has been involved in plant and animal experiments aboard a variety of spacecraft, and the company is heavily involved in working to bring manned spaceflight to Arizona.  In 2004, Two NASA Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grants have been awarded to Tucson-based Paragon Space Development Corporation. Paragon was among the companies receiving a $5,000 FAST Grant from the Arizona Department of Commerce in 2003.  Those funds were used to help hire a consultant to prepare the grant applications. “Paragon is bringing the Manned Space Program to Arizona,” says Commerce Director Gilbert Jimenez. “These awards help Paragon develop technologies that will be key to the future of manned space flight.” The first grant is dubbed the “Integrated Radiator” project, because it strives to develop a radiator design that can substitute for the primary structure of a spacecraft instead of being simply added to the outer “skin” of the vehicle. “ By performing the double duty of cooling as well as supporting the spacecraft loads, the overall vehicle can be lighter and, therefore, cheaper. The second SBIR is called the ‘Batch Vapor Compression Cycle’ or ‘Batch VCC’ for short. With it they investigated and built a highly efficient way of removing heat from items that tend to get too hot to operate correctly in space. These include such things as spacecraft, lunar bases, people, electronics, etc.”
 
Three Rivers’ products include The Natural-Fit Handrim, an ergonomic wheelchair hand rim that enables users to put less stress on their arm when gripping and turning the wheel, and The SmartWheel, a wireless device that mounts to a standard wheelchair and provides feedback to clinicians and researchers regarding propulsion efficiency, stroke length, velocity and distance—thereby allowing a wheelchair user to make the optimum equipment choice. Three Rivers was an AZ FAST Grant recipient from the Arizona Department of Commerce.  The grant was used to facilitate a Phase II SBIR proposal that was not initially funded but that the company might revise and resubmit. Additionally, they hired a consultant to apply for a code that will make The Natural-Fit Handrim eligible for Medicare reimbursement. Vice President David Boninger says now that the application process is complete and summer lobbying efforts are wrapped up, Three Rivers should hear something in October. “There are still some hurdles along the way,” he says, “but just the fact that we have an application in the system—that was the biggest hurdle. And we would not have had that without the AZ FAST Grant.”