ZetrOZ, Inc., of Trumbull CT, is the latest recipient of a SMARTCAP grant from NSBRI. ZetrOZ has developed an ultrasound device, SAM®, Sustained Acoustic Medicine, that enables self-administered therapeutic ultrasound treatment for periods up to four hours outside a physician’s office. Astronauts gain as much as two inches in height in space due to spinal decompression the microgravity environment. As the discs in the spine expand, the surrounding tissue is stressed and there is irritation of the spinal nerves resulting in back pain. Upon returning to Earth’s gravity, astronauts experience pain as the spine re-adapts to the compression of a 1G environment. Astronauts are 4 times more likely than the general population to develop Herniated Disc Pulposes (HNP) upon their return to Earth. With the funds awarded by NSBRI and matching funds from the Small Business Innovation team at Connecticut Innovations, this breakthrough device will undergo clinical testing to determine its ability to relieve back pain associated with herniated discs.