Year: 2014

David G. Hunter, MD, PhD, dreamed of a career as a rock star. Instead, he became Boston Children’s Hospital’s ophthalmologist-in-chief and invented the Pediatric Vision Scanner.

What are the hurdles in developing innovative products for children? The chief challenge is the small market size, which makes it unattractive for venture funding and large device companies to include pediatric medical devices in their R&D portfolio. That said, less competition means a company can have an edge in this niche market.

The two winners of a competition at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Health System symposium on pediatric surgical innovation were Velano Vascular and REBIScan, who each won $50,000.

Velano Vascular and REBIScan each capture $50,000 prize at Sheikh Zayed Institute Second Annual Pediatric Surgical Innovation Symposium

Device company representatives want FDA to make changes to the humanitarian device exemption process and provide other incentives to pediatric device developers.

Velano Vascular (San Francisco) and REBIScan (Cambridge, Massachusetts) shared top honors at the competition, Velano for its needle-free blood draws for hospitalized children while REBIScan drew raves for its handheld vision scanner for amblyopia.

Velano Vascular and REBIScan each capture $50,000 prize at Sheikh Zayed Institute Second Annual Pediatric Surgical Innovation Symposium.

“Often the market drives innovation as opposed to innovation driving the market,” Kolaleh Eskandanian, executive director of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National, told DOTmed News. She said that’s precisely the problem when it comes to pediatric medical devices.

Two inventors to be awarded $50,000 each at Sheikh Zayed Institute Second Annual Pediatric Surgical Innovation Symposium.

Two inventors to be awarded $50,000 each at Sheikh Zayed Institute Second Annual Pediatric Surgical Innovation Symposium