$150K Target Challenge To Commercialize Pediatric Rehabilitation Technology

LEBANON, N.H., May 24, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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.  

The 2016 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, TREAT Co-Director.

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.

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. This is the third Target Challenge opportunity offered by NEPDC, which is funded as part of the FDA Pediatric Device Consortium program.

For further information, visit www.NEPDC.org or email [email protected].

For more about TREAT, visit www.treatcenter.org or email [email protected].

For more about POSNA, visit www.posna.org.

For more about the Foundation for Physical Therapy, visit http://www.foundation4pt.org/.

SOURCE New England Pediatric Device Consortium

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http://www.NEPDC.org