Newport Beach, Calif.-based respiratory medical device company MediPines was named a winner in the special COVID-19 edition of the “Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids!” competition presented by the FDA-sponsored National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation. The competition focused on innovations in COVID-19-related pediatric medical devices that will improve children’s healthcare, with 16 finalists competing in a virtual pitch event for a share of $250,000 in total grant awards. MediPines received a grant award as a result of their winning presentation.

The MediPines Gas Exchange Monitor, AGM100, is a respiratory monitoring system used to rapidly and noninvasively assess a patient’s respiratory status. It is the first portable monitoring system of its kind to integrate a comprehensive set of critical parameters and respiratory measurements analyzed from two-minute samples of patient’s normal breathing. Current FDA-cleared indications for the AGM100 are limited to adults. MediPines will use the funds to support clinical investigations with collaborators from Seattle Children’s Hospital to support expansion of the indications to include pediatric patients. 

“In children, respiratory decline can be sudden. The ability to rapidly determine respiratory impairment has the potential to make a dramatic impact in pediatric screening and treatment support,” says Richard Hinds, MS, RRT, medical director at MediPines. 

MediPines was one of eight winners selected by a panel of 75 expert judges from healthcare, business, investor, and regulatory sectors. Winners were chosen based on the clinical significance and commercial feasibility of their COVID-19-related medical devices for children. The competition focused on medical devices that support home health monitoring and telehealth, and improve sustainability, resiliency, and readiness in diagnosing and treating children during a pandemic.

Steve Lee, MBA, CEO at MediPines, spoke out about the company’s accomplishment, commenting: “We are excited about the potential to help save the lives of our precious children impacted by infectious respiratory diseases using our advanced respiratory monitoring system.”