MIT launches effort to create more innovative medtech for children

This is a Pixabay image related to pediatrics with a doctor holding a stethoscope to a child's chest. The image could go along with the recent MIT announcement of a pediatric innovation hub.

[Image from Pixabay]

The MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative recently announced the establishment of the Hood Pediatric Innovation Hub to drive children’s healthcare innovation.

Launched in collaboration with the Boston-based Charles H. Hood Foundation — which has committed $15 million toward the effort over the next five years — the hub will focus on developing technologies and treatments tailored specifically for children, meeting unmet needs in pediatric medicine.

Leveraging MIT’s life science strengths, the hub will provide seed funding and strategic support for bold, high-impact research projects with the potential to transform children’s healthcare. In addition to supporting researchers with funding and regulatory expertise, it will also conduct outreach, education, and advocacy.

“The Hood Pediatric Innovation Hub represents an extraordinary opportunity to create meaningful and lasting change in the lives of children,” said Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the MIT School of Engineering, MIT’s chief innovation and strategy officer, and head of MIT HEALS. “By collaborating with the Charles H. Hood Foundation, we’re harnessing MIT’s interdisciplinary strengths to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in pediatric health care.”

In its April 11 news release announcing the creation of the Hood Pediatric Innovation Hub, MIT highlighted the longstanding issue that children remain underserved in medical innovation. Doctors often find themselves repurposing adult treatments or lacking a solution altogether. From 2008 to 2018, only 10% of U.S. FDA approvals were designated for people under the age of 18, according to MIT.

The Hood Pediatric Innovation Hub seeks to lead a transformation by creating a dedicated community for advancing technologies and research.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with MIT to launch the hub, a bold initiative that will drive groundbreaking science and technology for children. MIT’s unparalleled expertise in engineering and life sciences, combined with our deep commitment to pediatric innovation, creates a powerful force for change,” says Hood Foundation President Neil Smiley, on behalf of the foundation’s board of trustees. “We look forward to this catalytic gift igniting transformative programs that will shape the future of children’s health and well-being for generations to come.”