Can These Pediatric Devices Make a Difference?Can These Pediatric Devices Make a Difference?

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Twelve finalists in the "Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition will be pitching their medical device innovations Sept. 22 at the 7th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium hosted by Children’s National Health System. Sponsored by the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI), the competiton focuses on neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) innovations, a pediatric subspecialty that "FDA identifies as having a significant unmet need for medical devices," Children's National Health System pointed out in a news release. The symposium will be co-located with AdvaMed's MedTech Conference in Boston. Click next to read details about the 12 contenders.“All of the companies that entered the competition are remarkable, but these finalists impressed us the most because of how their innovative medical devices solve a clinical challenge in the NICU and the feasibility of accelerating their commercialization process,” said Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, vice president and chief innovation officer at Children’s National and principal investigator of NCC-PDI, in the news release. “One in 10 babies is born prematurely, making NICU innovation an area where we can positively impact outcomes for a significant number of patients, so we want to support developers with funding, mentorship and regulatory guidance.”NCC-PDI  is one of five FDA-funded grant programs focused on serving such needs, and it is led by the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Health System and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Last year, NCC-PDI added new accelerators BioHealth Innovation and MedTech Innovator and design firm partner, Archimedic. The finalists are receiving pitch coaching through BioHealth Innovation and are competing for a chance to receive awards up to $25,000 and participate in the newly created “Pediatric Device Innovator Accelerator Program” led by MedTech Innovator, it was reported.The 7th Annual Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium will feature a day-long conference track supporting the symposium theme, “Pediatric Device Clinical Trials: Forging a Better Path.” It will open with a keynote address from Melinda Richter, Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS, a network of life science incubators. In 2020, Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Children’s National will launch JLABS @ Washington, DC, at the new Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus. Their goal will be to "nurture and equip scientists and researchers to produce more novel solutions that currently do not exist for children," it was reported. After the keynote, Richter will participate in a fireside chat with Eskandanian.Vasum Peiris, M.D., the chief medical officer for pediatrics and special populations at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, will close the symposium with an an update on advancements and gaps in pediatric device innovation.Image by rawpixel from Pixabay