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New England Pediatric Device Consortium Provides Resources to Develop Medical Devices To Reduce the Incidence and Severity of Pediatric Pressure Ulcers

Lebanon, NH (PRWEB) November 17, 2014

“We are excited to work closely with our Target Challenge awardees, Circadiance and ROHO, to rapidly advance their technologies towards commercialization,” said Rick Greenwald, PhD, co-Director of NEPDC. “It is critically important to develop and deploy medical devices that reduce the incidence and severity of pediatric pressure ulcers”.

NEPDC awarded $ 70,000 in funding and will allocate 200 hours of in-kind service to each client from NEPDC member organizations. The in-kind services available cover various aspects of commercialization, including:

    Engineering design and transfer to manufacturing
    Development of intellectual property and regulatory strategy
    Pre-clinical and clinical trial design and execution
    Strategic market planning and business development
    Identifying co-funding opportunities

Each year, NEPDC partners with parents, clinicians, and advocacy groups to select a significant pediatric medical need and issues a Target Challenge to identify and solicit novel device concepts from academic and clinical institutions, industry, and the general public. “NEPDC sponsors a Target Challenge to encourage innovation and commercialization of new ideas and technologies in areas specifically identified as important unmet needs for children. In this way, we can focus on those problems for which solutions will have a major impact in improving health and quality of life for pediatric patients and their families” said Ann-Christine Duhaime, MD, co-Director of NEPDC.

Circadiance (Export, PA) was awarded $ 40,000 and 200 hours of in-kind services to commercialize a pediatric nasal mask that utilizes a patented soft cloth technology to reduce pressure ulcers that occur with traditional CPAP masks. “NEPDC will work with Circadiance to overcome the challenges of redesigning a successful adult product to meet the special needs of a pediatric and infant population” said Jon Lurie, MD, MS, NEPDC Comparative Effectiveness Core Director. “The collaboration with NEPDC will allow us to accelerate the development of a face mask for the delivery of pediatric non-invasive ventilation that does not cause pressure ulcers to the patient” said Circadiance CEO David Groll.

ROHO (Belleville, IL) was awarded $ 30,000 and 200 hours of in-kind services to commercialize a neonatal support surface that maximizes envelopment and pressure distribution to minimization risk of pressure ulcers. “Having the support of the NEPDC team, will allow us to leap forward in our knowledge and understanding to more quickly help these very young patients.” Kara Kopplin, Senior Director of Efficacy Research, Standards and Compliance, ROHO. “While the general public tends to think of pressure ulcers as a problem for adults, children who are immobilized for prolonged periods of time have a high incidence of this complication as well. Adapting ROHO’s proven adult technologies to the needs of children who have medical conditions requiring prolonged immobilization may help prevent serious complications and shorten hospital stay.” said Dr. Duhaime.

In addition to the Target Challenge program, NEPDC also offers commercialization resources for all pediatric medical devices through an open solicitation program. Applications from across the US are reviewed competitively on a quarterly schedule. “We continue to see great interest in NEPDC and our services, and we encourage new submissions by December 8, 2014 for our next round of grant awards”, Greenwald offered. “We also would value submission via the NEPDC website of specific ideas for our next Target Challenge to be announced in early 2015”.

About New England Pediatric Device Consortium (NEPDC)

NEPDC is a non-profit consortium that provides infrastructure, expert consultation to innovators, and execution of technology translation and commercialization of pediatric technologies. NEPDC is funded by the FDA’s Office of Orphan Product Development as part of the Pediatric Device Consortium network to accelerate commercialization of safe and effective technologies for pediatric populations. NEPDC fosters commercialization by connecting innovators with an extensive network of clinicians, researchers, technologists, and business development specialists located at institutions throughout New England. NEPDC member institutions include: Mass General Hospital for Children, Simbex, CIMIT, Institute for Pediatric Innovation, and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. For further information visit http://www.NEPDC.org

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