Fischell Institute Work Highlighted at Children National Hospital 2023 Innovation Day

The BabyGro Pro Smart Scale, developed by Fischell Institute engineers John Rzasa and Kevin Aroom, was featured at the Children’s National Hospital Innovation Day, held on May 31, 2023.

The BabyGro Pro Smart Scale is a novel device designed to reduce errors when weighing infants at the clinic, enabling more reliable data that helps identify growth-related disorders earlier and detect when a child is falling off the growth chart.

Innovation Day focuses on Children's National Hospital researchers who are looking for strategic partnerships, co-development, and licensing opportunities. The event also showcases startup companies whose missions align with the hospital’s quest to bring more pediatric products to market.

The event featured Jules Sherman, Director of the Biodesign Program at Children's National Hospital, who presented the project TrachSense. TrachSense is a collaboration project between Sherman, several UMD bioengineering students, and researchers from the University of Oregon to develop improved tracheostomy tubes.

Together, they developed a prototype of a sensor that is able to detect if there is a stable reading of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the tracheostomy tube. A stable reading would indicate that the tracheostomy tube has been placed correctly and that the tube is intact. If no or little CO2 is detected, the tracheostomy tube would likely have fallen out or "decannulated."

Right now, the team is developing an app that would send an alert to the provider that the tube has been placed correctly or is no longer intact. They also are working on creating a camera that can go inside the tracheostomy tube so at-home patients can meet remotely with care providers and see the development inside the trachea.

Fischell Institute Associate Director Martha Wang and Engineer Quinn Burke attended Innovation Day. "I was thrilled to see our areas of collaboration being highlighted as successful projects," said Wang.

Over the past ten years, the Fischell Institute and Children’s National Hospital have enjoyed a rich partnership, including the co-administration of the National Capital Consortium for Pediatric Device Innovation (NCCPDI) grant, and have seen a significant depth of collaboration throughout the relationship, such as participation in events like Innovation Day.

"Innovation Day was a wonderful event, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to attend,” said Burke. “The work in the pediatric device field is fascinating, and I enjoyed learning more about the different devices showcased at the event. I am looking forward to the event next year and the continued partnerships between the Fischell Institute and Children's National Hospital."

Published June 22, 2023