The Maine Technology Institute helped six companies receive more than $6 million in federal grant money.

Each company received an award from the Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer program. The programs offer grants from 11 federal agencies for early stage, high-risk, technology-oriented research and development that could lead to the commercialization of new products and services.

MTI provided technical assistance to the companies to help prepare their proposals. Among the companies receiving grants were:

n Alba-Technic of Winthrop, which received $224,682 from the National Institutes of Health. The company is developing a wearable product to protect the hips of elderly people who are susceptible to falls.

n Compotech Inc. of Brewer received $4.4 million from the Department of Defense. The company is developing an armor system using composite components.

n Eldertide of Dresden received $99,994 from the Department of Defense. The company is studying the feasibility of developing a blended elderberry juice concentrate using a novel juice concentration technology.

n Home Care Business Services Inc. of Falmouth received $225,000 from the National Science Foundation. The company is working on an algorithm that assesses the readmission risk of patients recently treated at hospitals.

n Introspective Systems of Portland received $956,277 from the Department of Energy. The tech company is developing software frameworks that can help small energy grids reallocate resources based on price triggers.

n The Montalvo Corp. of Gorham received $750,000 from the National Science Foundation. The company is developing a product to enhance control and reduce waste in composites manufacturing.

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