A mechanical elbow brace for pediatric patients is the winner of $30,000 in grant funding in a competition focused on medical device technologies for the unmet needs of children.
Novel Pediatric Brace Wins FDA Grant Contest
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The mechanical elbow brace, called “Move-D,” is designed to improve activities of daily living for pediatric ataxic cerebral palsy patients. Innovation Lab, an Orange County-based startup, entered Move-D in the competition for the grant. The company will use the funds to bring the elbow brace to market.
Innovation Lab General Manager Ryan Kelly commented, “Since 2013, we have been dedicated to improving the lives of patients through innovation, turning inspiring ideas into products. Many of these ideas come from clinicians who are working directly with patients and see where change is needed.”
Kelly continued, “I am so proud of this team for their work to advance Move-D toward market so it can make a positive difference in the lives of so many kids and adults.”
Innovation Lab was one of five winners at this year’s “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition. The competition was held during the Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium hosted by Children’s National Hospital. Each of the five winners received a portion of a $150,000 grant funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Per the press release, the other winners included the following:
- “A minimally invasive biventricular non-blood contacting cardiac assist device to treat heart failure” by CorInnova.
- An incubator pad designed to “improve the treatment of apnea of prematurity” by Prapela.
- A nonsurgical clinic procedure for eardrum repair called Perf-Fix by Tympanogen.
- A universal trocar that enables safe and “dynamic access and effortless upsizing in conventional/mini/robotic procedures” by Xpan.
The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) sponsored the competition. In addition to the funding, the winners of the competition will receive mentorship and support from NCC-PDI’s network of experts.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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