COVID-19-edition of pediatric medical device competition announces finalists

WASHINGTON – Sixteen finalists are announced in the "Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” special 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, the finalists will compete in a virtual pitch event held 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 and 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., M.B.A., P.M.P., vice president and chief innovation officer at Children’s National and principal investigator of NCC-PDI. "Competitions like this are vital to get ahead of the health care 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."

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 & 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. 

The following are the 16 pediatric device innovations that judges selected for the final competition: 

• Adipomics - simple and fast, one-step COVID-19 diagnostic kit for home or school use
• Bloom Standard (Kaaria) - wearable, AI-driven ultrasound for infant cardiac and pulmonary screening and diagnostics
• CereVu Medical - remote COVID-19 sensor, monitor and centralized data hub that measures blood oxygen saturation, muscle aches, temperature and trouble breathing
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia – a transparent reusable DIY origami facemask that reveals facial expressions & improves 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 and complete treatment programs
• Medichain - cost effective, accurate COVID-19 test with results in minutes and can detect the virus in the early stage
• Medipines - monitor device that displays critical respiratory parameters analyzed from a patient's breathing sample
• OtoPhoto - a smart otoscope that quickly and accurately aids diagnosis of ear infections for home telehealth use
• OxiWear – continuous wear oxygen-monitoring device used to reduce patient insecurity
• REALTROMINS - real-time, continuously updated predictive analytics to identify impending mortality in children
• SurgiPals - digital assistant and urine biochemical sensor to aid in outpatient care of children with COVID-19
• TGV-Dx - a novel, phenotype-based test system for rapid selection of effective antibiotic regimen
• VitaScope - quick, accurate infant vital signs to facilitate high-quality virtual care
• Vitls - wearable platform for remote patient monitoring of the vitals clinicians require to assess a patient
• X-Biomedical - rugged, portable smart ICU ventilator for pediatric and adult patients

Funding for the competition is made possible by a grant from the 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 health care. 

In addition to this COVID-19 special edition event, NCC-PDI recently revealed the 10 finalists in its prestigious eighth annual “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition. Cardiovascular, NICU, and orthopaedic and spine device innovations are the focus of the fall competition, taking place October 7, 2020 as part of the 8th Annual Symposium on Pediatric Device Innovation, presented by Children’s National and co-located with The MedTech Conference powered by AdvaMed. 

Media Contacts:  Cherri Carbonara | 713-524-8170 | 832-473-6380 and Kristi Powers | 713-524-8170 | 713-898-4849