Brief History of Integrative Health Technologies

Integrative Health Technologies, Inc. (IHTI) began operations in 1985 as Health and Medical Research, LLC., (HMR), a Clinical Research Organization (CRO) conducting pilot studies and clinical trials for products and technologies that could be integrated into pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical treatment plans. In July 2006 through a reverse merger, HMR incorporated as Integrative Health Technologies, Inc. (IHTI) continuing HMR’s two-fold business plan to:

  1. operate as a for-profit Independent CRO providing pilot studies and clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical products and plans for the medical, biotech and nutritional supplement industries, and
  2. to build a Longitudinal Database of Medical Biomarker for analyses of inter- and intra-relationships between:

The rationale for building database was and is based on increasing evidence that large research databases are not only increasingly being used for research in the 'hard' mathematics-based disciplines such as physics and engineering, but also in more 'soft' disciplines, such as sociology, psychology as well as in preventive medicine. In between the 'hard' and the 'soft' disciplines lie disciplines such as biomedicine and health care that can be subdivided into:

  1. fundamental biomedical research, related to the 'hard' scientific approach,
  2. clinical research, using both 'hard' and 'soft' data, and
  3. population-based prospective and retrospective research.

A number of studies have increasingly validated the value of “Big Data Analytics in HealthCare” encouraging Healthcare analysts and practitioners make inferences from valid and reliable healthcare data. One of most dramatic examples of the value of using “big data” to improve healthcare is The Framingham Heart Study. For 50 years, the Framingham Heart Study has been synonymous with the remarkable advances made in the prevention of heart disease in the United States as well as throughout the world. Fifty years of data collected from Framingham’s database has:

  1. produced over 1,000 scientific papers,
  2. identified major risk factors associated with heart disease, stroke and other diseases,
  3. paved the way for researchers to undertake clinical trials based on Framingham’s findings,
  4. supported the revolution in preventive medicine, and
  5. forever changed the way the medical community and general public view the genesis of disease and disease prevention.

Framingham’s data have also provided the most important epidemiological studies in the annals of American medicine. While its contributions in the area of heart research are legion, researchers also are utilizing new data to investigate stroke, dementia, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, and eye disease. Encouraged by the contributions made by analyses of Framingham’s database, IHTI dedicated significant time and resources into editing and computerizing its’ historical data into what has now become a ~35-year database of medical biomarkers.

A recent example a potential use of IHTI’s database is an announcement by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that:

"On Wednesday, September 2, from 12:00 to 5:00 pm ET The Academies will host an open online session to receive public comments on a Discussion Draft of the Preliminary Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine, as part of a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study will recommend priorities to inform allocation of a limited initial supply of COVID-19 vaccine, taking into account factors such as racial/ethnic and other health disparities, as well as groups at higher risk from COVID-19 due to health status, occupation, or living conditions. Input from the public, especially communities highly impacted by COVID-19, is essential to produce a final report that is objective, balanced, and inclusive."

Since virtually all of the subjects in the Database agreed to be contacted about future studies they could be contacted and asked to complete a questionnaire about their current health status. Since there will be no actual physical contact with subjects approval by an Institutional Review Board should not pose a problem nor would it place any additional burdens on the contacted subjects or the researchers.

A Brief Background of IHTI's Chief Scientist, Gilbert R. Kaats, PhD, CEO

  1. Enlisted in 1954 as an "Aviation Cadet," (the precursor to the Air Force Academy) where he received a commission and navigator wings and graduated in the top 5% of his class.
  2. Accumulated over 7,200 flying hours as an instructor, flight examiner, and master navigator on global flights during his 20 years of active duty service.
  3. Was assigned to Military Air Transport Command, Air Force Air Rescue Services, and the Presidential Flight as a navigator on Air Force 2.
  4. Developed and executed drug abuse and prevention programs in Thailand and in Vietnam reporting to The President's Commission on Drug Abuse Committees and the Air Force's Chief of Staff during his two-year Vietnam War tour of duty.
  5. Largely on off-duty time, earned:
    1. a bachelor’s degree with high honors in psychology from the University of Maryland
    2. a master’s degree in psychology from George Washington University
    3. a PhD in Social Psychology & Behavioral/Research from the University of Colorado
  6. Served five years as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Leadership at the Air Force Academy and implemented an active cadet research program that included cadet presentations of research papers at professional research meetings.
  7. Completed the research requirement for his doctorate dissertation by measuring the impact of the Academy's education on changes in psychological variables of open-mindedness, dogmatism, authoritarianism, and concrete-abstract thinking. Contrary to the hypothesis, cadets became less dogmatic, close-minded, and authoritarian, and more abstract in their thinking as they moved through academic class.
  8. Completed his Air Force career as a staff officer at Headquarters Air Training & Education Command. Was responsible for developing and implementing the Air Force's programs for substance abuse, race relations and equal opportunity and treatment.
  9. Since retirement, has served as CEO of Integrative Health Technologies.

CV of Gilbert R. Kaats, PhD