Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium announces first five awardees

Image: Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Several of Ohio’s biggest names in healthcare have teamed up for a first-of-its-kind partnership to produce and commercialize pediatric medical devices.

With support from a $6.95 million grant from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University are leading the Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium (MPDC) - the first of its kind in the Midwest.

And this week the MPDC announced its first grant recipients, which came from over 40 applications, working to advance pediatric medical devices into clinical use.

Awardees receiving a $50,000 grant include:

• SpineX (Los Angeles, CA): Spinal Cord Innovation in Pediatrics (SCiP™), a novel device proven to treat the root cause of cerebral palsy through spinal cord neuromodulation.

• Rhaeos, Inc. (Evanston, IL): FlowSense, a noninvasive wireless, wearable skin patch that can assess and monitor fluid flow below the skin surface. The company is initially targeting hydrocephalus, a life-threatening condition caused by an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

• Lighthanded Enterprises (Cleveland, OH): A laser otoscope providing an enhanced illumination source for more accurately diagnosing otitis media with effusion (chronic ear infection).

Awardees receiving a $25,000 grant include:

• Levisonics, Inc. (Offices in Indiana and Louisiana): Acoustic levitation technology for small sample volume comprehensive blood coagulation analysis

• Vascular Perfusion Solutions (Texas): Revolutionizing pediatric heart preservation using the VP.S ENCORE® PEDS Device

About the MPDC

The MPDC will work to conceptualize, prototype, test, manufacture, market and commercialize pediatric medical devices. The initiative’s driving goal is to grow number of pediatric medical devices introduced across the nation.

The grant was awarded to co-principal investigators Cory Criss, MD, chief operating officer of the consortium and pediatric surgeon at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and David Eckmann, PhD, MD, chief executive officer of the consortium and founding director of the Center for Medical and Engineering Innovation at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Consortium members include:

• Nationwide Children's Hospital

• The Ohio State University

• Cleveland Clinic Children’s

• Cincinnati Children’s

Academic partners include:

• Northeast Ohio Medical University

• The University of Toledo

• Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS)

• Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA)

Industry partners include:

• Rev1 Ventures

• Midwest Pediatric Surgical Consortium

• Ohio Life Sciences

• Jumpstart

• CincyTech

• Applied Medical Technology (AMT)

• PediaWorks

• Priority Designs

What they’re saying:

“The opportunity to be leading the charge in our region toward the development of medical devices for pediatric patients is incredibly exciting. It was a massive effort and really highlights the amazing talent and expertise that we have to offer in the region.” 

- Cory Criss, MD, co-principal investigator and chief operating officer of the consortium, and pediatric surgeon at Nationwide Children’s

“While there are plenty of medical and surgical devices on the market available for patients, it’s important to remember that children are not little adults and are underserved in this space. They require equipment catered to them, making pediatric device development vitally important. We are thrilled to be collaborating across institutions in order to bring more pediatric-focused devices from bench to bedside, to benefit patient outcomes.”

- Matthew McFarland, RPh, PhD, chief technical officer of the consortium and vice president of commercialization and industry relations at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

“As home to several of the leading hospitals and universities in the country, as well as a vibrant medical technology infrastructure, Ohio is an ideal space to establish this new consortium. This is an excellent step toward improving patient care not throughout Ohio, but nationwide.”

- David Eckmann, PhD, MD, co-principal investigator, and Chief Executive Officer of the consortium, and founding director of the Center for Medical and Engineering Innovation at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.