LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - September 4, 2020 - The West Coast Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics (CTIP), centered at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, awarded $210,000 in seed grants on August 1, 2020 to accelerate projects specifically designed to improve the safety and delivery of care to infants and children.
Five innovators developing novel devices and technologies for pediatric patients were selected as winners for CTIP’s fourth Catalyzing Pediatric Grant (CPI) competition (each awarded at $30,000-$50,000).
Pediatric patients have long been an underserved population in the technology space, with many having to deal with ill-fitted medical devices and a lack of access to effective diagnostic or therapeutic devices. CTIP aims to address these unmet needs.
“This year’s grant winners have developed devices designed to avoid serious complications in children from supporting extremely premature infants to proactively addressing pediatric sepsis to gastrointestinal and ophthalmologic solutions and, even, the use of night vision technology in the clinical setting.” said Kathryne Cooper, MBA, Co-Director of CTIP. “We are excited by the potential impact of these technologies on patient outcomes. Our CPI applicants continue to comprise not only diverse medtech solutions but also diverse founding teams, including people of color and female founders, which I find especially encouraging within healthtech.” Applicants included device projects covering 19 different pediatric subspecialties (most common: neonatology) and all anticipated FDA device classes (class I, II, III and exempt). The 90+ applications were from 21 states, including 48 applications from California.
“There are many challenges with the pediatric medical device market. Designing pediatric-specific products that change and grow with a child is complicated and the limited size of the pediatric population impacted by specific diseases poses risks for investors and founders.” says, Juan Espinoza, MD, FAAP, Director and Principal Investigator of CTIP. “The CPI grant provides funds to help founders address these obstacles and provides a platform of services to help guide the advancement of medical devices for pediatric patients.”
We look forward to 2020 CPI grant winners showcasing their technologies at a CTIP event planned for 2021.
The 2020 winners, announced August 1, 2020 are as follows:
Application of Infrared Thermography to Pediatric Vascular Access will apply the latest Terahertz imaging technology to improve clinical practice for intravenous or “IV access”, a necessary but challenging and stressful procedure for children who are sick or need surgery.
Tarsus Eyelid Patch, is a comfortable, effective, therapeutic method of eye closure which retains moisture, reduces the occurrence and heal epithelial or corneal surface defects, and enhances the effectiveness of eye medicines. www.nictavi.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-horner-nictavi/
The Prolapse Whisperer is intended for use in treatment of stomal prolapse and assists in preventing recurrence. It can be used for splinting intestinal stomas, maintaining the integrity of the stomal opening, and preventing obstruction. www.pmdllc.wixsite.com/pmdllc
Promedix is developing Digital Capillary Refill, a product to improve the diagnostic accuracy of sepsis in children, with a goal to diagnose and treat pediatric sepsis earlier. www.promedixinc.com/
The SiMOx-AP is a novel artificial placenta device designed to support extremely premature infants, allowing them to grow and develop as they would in the womb. www.pharm.ucsf.edu/roy