Pediatric medical device competition announces finalists

Sixteen finalists have been announced in the Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids! COVID-19 edition competition presented by the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI). Representing innovations in COVID-19-related pediatric medical devices, finalists will compete in a virtual pitch event on July 20, 2020. Winners will receive grant awards of up to $50,000.

The competition is led by NCC-PDI co-founders the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Hospital, and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. It is powered by nonprofit accelerator and NCC-PDI member, MedTech Innovator.

This competition focuses on pediatric medical devices that support home health monitoring and telehealth, and improve sustainability, resiliency, and readiness in diagnosing and treating children during a pandemic.

"As COVID -19 continues to threaten the health of families and children across the nation, we must continue to seek new and better ways to deliver quality care during a pandemic and offer technology solutions to reopen more safely,” says Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, vice president and chief innovation officer at Children’s National Hospital and principal investigator of NCC-PDI. "Competitions like this are vital to get ahead of the healthcare challenge that COVID-19 presents in the world of pediatrics. By supporting innovation, we provide critical breakthroughs that can positively impact the lives of the children and families we serve."

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Along with grant funding, one company from the competition will be selected by Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS to receive a one-year residency at JLABS @ Washington, DC, which will be located on the new Children’s National Research and Innovation Campus currently under construction. In addition to the 2021 JLABS residency, the awardee will have access to the JLABS community and expert mentoring by the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.

These are the 16 pediatric device innovations judges selected:

• Adipomics – Simple, fast, one-step COVID-19 diagnostic kit for home, school use
• Bloom Standard (Kaaria) – Wearable, AI-driven ultrasound for infant cardiac and pulmonary screening, diagnostics
• CereVu Medical – Remote COVID-19 sensor, monitor, centralized data hub to measure blood oxygen saturation, muscle aches, temperature, trouble breathing
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia – Transparent, reusable DIY origami facemask revealing facial expressions, improving communication
• Children's National Hospital – Lab-on-a-chip device for high-throughput combination drug screening
• Hopscotch – Gamified cognitive behavioral therapy-based computer exercises to encourage kids to stay engaged, complete treatment programs
• Medichain – Cost effective, accurate COVID-19 test with results within minutes; can detect virus in early stage
• Medipines – Monitor device displaying critical respiratory parameters analyzed from patient's breathing sample
• OtoPhoto – Smart otoscope to aid in diagnosis of ear infections quickly, accurately for home telehealth
• OxiWear – Continuous wear oxygen-monitoring device to reduce patient insecurity
• REALTROMINS – Real time, continuously updated predictive analytics to identify impending mortality in children
• SurgiPals – Digital assistant and urine biochemical sensor aiding in outpatient care of children with COVID-19
• TGV-Dx – Novel, phenotype-based test system for rapid selection of effective antibiotic regimen
• VitaScope – Quick, accurate infant vital signs, facilitating high-quality virtual care
• Vitls – Wearable platform for remote patient monitoring of vitals clinicians require to assess patients
• X-Biomedical – Rugged, portable smart ICU ventilator for pediatric, adult patients

Funding for the competition is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a philanthropic gift from Mei Xu, founder of e-commerce platform Yes She May, a site dedicated to women-owned brands. The creator of successful global businesses, Mei Xu is also a mother who understands the importance of pediatric specialty care and wants to encourage innovators who are developing solutions that can improve children’s healthcare.