Institute for Pediatric Innovation (IPI) and Its Pediatric Hospital Consortium Begin Engineering Development of Two Innovative Devices Tailored for Infants

CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwire - January 13, 2010) -

The Institute for Pediatric Innovation (IPI), Inc., a nonprofit focused on transforming unmet needs in pediatric care into product opportunities for industry, today announced the development of two innovative medical devices tailored for infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The devices are a new pediatric endotracheal tube optimized for neonatal care and a vein transilluminator that will reduce the number of needle sticks required to locate a vein. Clinicians from Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital are providing end-user guidance in the design of these two products, respectively. The work is funded by a $200,000 contract from a medical device company.

These devices were identified as priorities after IPI, working in conjunction with its Pediatric Hospital Consortium, conducted an in-depth needs analysis at NICUs in children’s hospitals nationwide. This needs analysis was essential to select among the many situations in which clinicians are forced to use adult products in today’s NICUs that, while FDA-approved for adults, are often not well-suited for treating infants.

The specialized endotracheal tube addresses the high level of intubations that occur in NICUs; approximately 90 percent of the tiny patients require assistance with breathing. Inserting and monitoring the position of an endotracheal tube in pediatric patients is complicated by the minute size and extreme fragility of preterm patient’s airways.

The second device, a vein transilluminator, will reduce the number of needle sticks required to locate a vein for drawing blood or inserting an IV or diagnostic device. The transilluminator will enable medical professionals to “see” the location of a vessel in a premature infant.

IPI will be managing the engineering development of these new devices. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, a member of IPI’s hospital consortium, will provide clinical input into the development process for the ET tube. University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, also a member of IPI’s hospital consortium, will be providing clinical support for the vein illuminator project. DesignWise Medical, working in conjunction with students at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Wisconsin-Stout, is developing the transilluminator.

“Bringing these devices to market represents the culmination of an extensive needs analysis, which is so vital to generating the greatest possible impact from our work,” said Ross Trimby, IPI’s chief operating officer. “This progress has been made possible by the enthusiastic spirit of collaboration between the IPI team, our consortium hospitals and DesignWise Medical. These partners have helped translate IPI’s vision into reality.”

“Our NICU Investigative Team, led by Dr. William Rhine and Nursing Director Diane Galazzo, is very excited about this opportunity to contribute their hands-on knowledge in developing a new pediatric product which will have the potential to improve care to all NICU patients in the future,” said Owen Aurelio, vice president, clinical services at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Added Christopher Dawes, president and CEO at Packard Children’s, “We are very pleased with the progress that IPI is making in their efforts to develop devices to improve the lives of special needs children throughout the world. Our hospital looks forward to this and other new collaborations with IPI.”

“We are always looking for ways to improve care for the tiny and most fragile patients in our NICU,” says Dr. Michele Walsh, medical director of the NICU at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. “We’re excited by the potential of these new inventions to contribute to better care.”

IPI expects the development of these devices and transfer to a medical device company for commercial sale to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2010.

About the Institute for Pediatric Innovation (IPI)

The Institute for Pediatric Innovation (http://www.pediatricinnovation.org), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, is improving pediatric care by stimulating development of medical devices and drugs designed specifically for treating babies and children. IPI and its consortium of six leading U.S. pediatric hospitals work with the pediatric care community to identify and design the most needed products. IPI mobilizes public, private, nonprofit and for-profit resources to achieve product development and licenses the resulting products to companies for commercial sale. IPI is led by an experienced team of experts in licensing, developing and commercializing medical devices and pharmaceutical products for pediatric medical care. To date, IPI has aggregated financing from its consortium members, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Children’s Medical Ventures, Inc., AGA Medical, Oxford Bioscience Partners, University of Kansas, Cambridge Consulting and the World Health Organization (WHO).