NEPDC and TREAT partner with leading clinical foundations and societies to address unmet rehabilitation needs for children.
New England Pediatric Device Consortium (NEPDC) and the Center for Translation of Rehabilitation Engineering Advances and Technology (TREAT) announce the release of their 2016 Target Challenge grant opportunity to address an underserved topic in pediatric medicine that has a high need for innovation and device improvement. The 2016 Target Challenge, in partnership with the Foundation for Physical Therapy and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), was created to foster development and accelerate commercialization of technologies for pediatric rehabilitation.
“There have been great advances in medicine to keep kids alive, but the appropriate rehabilitation technology available to them, from infancy through adolescence, has not kept up at the same pace. Pediatric rehabilitation services and medical devices must also be developed and evolved to meet the diverse needs and emerging health challenges”, says Rick Greenwald, PhD, NEPDC Co-Director.
Children, like adults, often require rehabilitation or physical therapy in order to reverse or delay potential debilitating or life threatening effects of injury or disability. This challenging field of medicine addresses a wide range of individual needs and encompasses numerous etiologies, including neuromotor, neuromuscular, cognitive and orthopaedic conditions, injuries, or diseases.
“Pediatric rehabilitation needs are expanding and we believe this multidisciplinary coalition will maximize efforts, ultimately granting healthcare providers the technology and wisdom to create the best possible outcomes for children with motor and developmental delays,” said Foundation Board of Trustees President Barbara Connolly, PT, DPT, EdD, FAPTA. “It is paramount that the healthcare community work to address these needs so that we can optimize physical functioning in the lives of children.”
The 2016 Target Challenge is the third Target Challenge opportunity offered by NEPDC, which is funded as part of the FDA Pediatric Device Consortium program. Previous Target Challenge programs were aimed at solutions for preventing pediatric pressure ulcers and devices to improve diagnosis and detection of apnea in children. “Continuing the Target Challenge program is exciting for NEPDC. Past Target Challenge award recipients have accelerated their time to market and are delivering products into the hands of children and families who need them”, said Ann-Christine Duhaime, MD, Co-Director of NEPDC.
This Target Challenge will provide up to 200 hours of in-kind service to each awardee and distribute up to $150,000 in seed funding to accelerate device commercialization. Awardees will also have access to NEPDC and TREAT networks, which include links to industry, academic, and the greater clinical community, to help overcome the unique challenges surrounding development and translation of pediatric rehabilitation products for clinical and consumer use. “The team at TREAT is very excited about this Target Challenge. By partnering with NEPDC and others, we will have the resources and expertise to help important innovations in the field of pediatric rehabilitation get commercialized and available to the children who need them”, says Jonathan Lurie, MD, MS, Co-Director of TREAT.
Following an open call for device solutions, a panel of clinicians, entrepreneurs, and technologists from the Target Challenge partnering organizations will assess submissions based on their likelihood to positively impact pediatric rehabilitation, technical feasibility, market and business potential, and plan to demonstrate efficacy of the proposed device. Finalists will be invited to present to the review panel in August 2016.
“A growing child is an especially unique challenge for fields such as Orthopaedics, and POSNA is excited to support this opportunity to advance innovations in current technology for rehab”, says James McCarthy, MD, MHCM, President of POSNA.
Additional details and the full request for proposals can be found by visiting the Target Challenge website. Those interested in submitting medical device concepts must first register on-line and submit abstracts by July 8, 2016, with full applications due by July 22, 2016.
About the 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, the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD), and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI). For further information, visit www.NEPDC.org or email info@nepdc.org.
About the Center for the Translation of Rehabilitation Engineering Advances and Technology (TREAT)
TREAT is a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, collaborative consortium between corporate, educational and non-profit entities that provides education, expert consultation, and direct assistance to accelerate commercialization of rehabilitation and assistive technologies. The center is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Medical Rehabilitation Research (MR3) Infrastructure Network. Funding is provided by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) through awards R24HD065703 and P2CHD086841. TREAT member institutions include: Simbex, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI), and Boston University’s School of Public Health. For more information, please visit www.treatcenter.org or email info@treatcenter.org.
About the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA)
The Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) is a not-for-profit professional organization of over 1200 surgeons, physicians, and allied health members passionately dedicated to advancing musculoskeletal care for children and adolescents through education, research, quality, safety and value initiatives, advocacy, and global outreach to children in underserved areas. For more information, visit www.posna.org.
About the Foundation for Physical Therapy
The Foundation for Physical Therapy was established in 1979 as a national, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and delivery of physical therapy care by providing support for scientifically based and clinically relevant physical therapy research and doctoral scholarships and fellowships. Over the last 37 years, the Foundation has awarded more than $17 million in research grants, fellowships, and post-professional doctoral scholarships to more than 576 emerging scientists. Foundation-funded researchers have gone on to receive an estimated $753 million in external funding from the National Institutes of Health and other sources. Many of today’s leading and emerging physical therapy researchers, clinicians, and academicians began their careers with a grant or scholarship from the Foundation. To learn more, visit www.Foundation4pt.org. For more information, e-mail info@foundation4pt.org.
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