LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Southern California Consortium for Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics (CTIP), based at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, has awarded $165,000 in seed grants to accelerate projects specifically designed to improve the safety and delivery of care to infants and children.
The four projects that earned CTIP's 2017 Catalyzing Pediatric Innovation Grants (each awarded at $30,000-$50,000) will help develop devices for early detection of a life-threatening gastrointestinal disease, neurological monitoring in toddlers, less invasive pediatric mechanical ventilation and optimum delivery of nutrients to young patients.
"Pediatric patients have long had to cope with ill-fitting medical devices, most of which have been designed for adults and adapted to children," said Yaniv Bar-Cohen, MD, director of CTIP and a pediatric cardiologist at CHLA. "Our consortium is dedicated to changing that picture, and with this funding, we hope to jump start the process with four products that take aim at current, unmet medical needs.”
The Southern California CTIP, a collaboration of CHLA and USC, was established in 2011. Funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a Pediatric Device Consortium since 2013, CTIP brings together experts for the purpose of advising applicants and advancing the development of pediatric medical devices. Since its inception, CTIP has provided assistance to more than 100 projects.
This year's grant winners, announced August 1, are as follows:
Novel triggering method for pediatric mechanical ventilation: CHLA - A device to allow more accurate alignment of a ventilator with a patient's own breathing. Young children do not benefit from many advances in non-invasive ventilation because they cannot synchronize their breath effectively with the ventilator. Asynchronous ventilator-timed breaths can be ineffective and even dangerous. The novel system includes external belts to measure movement of the abdomen and chest wall, along with sophisticated algorithms that will enable real-time filtering of signals for accurate breath triggering — bringing child and machine in closer harmony.
Optical Detection of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) at Bedside: UCLA — Left untreated, NEC leads to bowel dysfunction, intestinal cell death and systemic illness, even death. The UCLA project uses advanced optical technology to assess restricted blood supply (ischemia) in intestinal tissues — a problem that causes a reduction of oxygen and glucose needed for cellular metabolism. The real-time evaluation of gut status could lead to improved outcomes by allowing for early detection and treatment.
A Practical High-Fidelity Dry Electrode EEG System for Toddlers: Wearable Sensing — Seizures are a common neurological disorder in infants and children. Current "wet" electrode systems require skin abrasion and the use of gels that are problematic in young children. Wearable Sensing plans to commercialize a dry electrode EEG headset for toddlers between 1 to 3 years, using technology developed by QUASAR.
A Novel Nasogastric Feeding Tube for Optimizing Nutritional Administration in Pediatric Patients: TheraNova — Hospitalized children often require nasogastric (nose-to-stomach) feeding. Tube misplacement is a serious problem, occurring in a large percentage of placements in children and neonates nationwide. TheraNova's solution combines low-cost sensors, an algorithm-operated monitor and a data-driven feeding pump. The system avoids the cost and risk of using radiography to verify tube placement.
For more information on Southern California CTIP at CHLA, visit www.scctip.org.
About Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been ranked the top children’s hospital in California and sixth in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. CHLA is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of America's premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932. For more information, visit CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram, and visit our child health blog (CHLA.org/blog) and our research blog (ResearCHLABlog.org).