The Food & Drug Administration has teamed up with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to help accelerate the development and approval of innovative devices for continuously monitoring biomarkers in people.

Biomarkers can serve as early warning signs of disease — such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and influenza — before symptoms occur, ideally in real time. They could also help optimize the performance of healthy individuals and athletes. The biomarkers could include an immunological signature or a particular subset of proteins, nucleic acids, or small molecules. A biomarker could also serve as an indication that there’s been a shift in an individual’s baseline health — a warning that something is awry

DARPA wants to identify biomarkers that could enhance the health of military members and their families. The FDA wants to help foster innovative technologies, while at the same time ensuring that they are biocompatible, safe, and effective.

The first medical device to be evaluated: a robotic arm that moves almost naturally and is controlled by brain activity via a chip implanted on the surface of a patient’s brain.