The National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCC-PDI) announced a pitch competition for COVID-19-related pediatric medical devices.

The competition, which is accepting submissions from now through July 6, focuses on devices that support home health monitoring and telehealth to improve sustainability, resiliency and readiness in diagnosing and treating children during a pandemic, according to a news release.

Experts at the University of Maryland encouraged innovators in the contest to be mindful of how their innovation can currently, or with adaptation, serve children’s needs.

NCC-PDI co-founders, the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Hospital and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland and powered by nonprofit accelerator and NCC-PDI member, MedTech Innovator, are leading the competition. Winners will each receive a grant award of up to $50,000.

“Despite early reports that COVID-19 posed less of a threat to children, a recent study published by Children’s National shows that considerable numbers of pediatric patients are hospitalized and become critically ill from the disease,” Children’s National Hospital VP & chief innovation officer & NCC-PDI principal investigator Kolaleh Eskandanian said in the release. “Innovation in children’s medical devices consistently lags behind that of adults and we need to change that if we are to confront the challenge to children’s health of COVID-19 and future pandemics.”