NIH has awarded a total of $1 million in prizes to the winners of the NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge for Maternal Health. The winning technologies designed and developed diagnostic tests and platform technologies to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Winners are listed below.
NTAC Challenge Winners - 2022
First Place Prize
$500,000
Dr. Bethany Hedt-Gauthier, Team Captain
mHealth tools for community health worker-led home-based diagnosis of surgical site infections and anemia post-cesarian deliveryA stand-alone, integrated mobile health tool for community health workers to monitor postpartum recovery by women following a cesarian delivery.
Harvard University
Laban Bikorimana, Adeline Boatin
Vincent Cubaka, Bethany Hedt-Gauthier, Richard Fletcher
Frederick Kateera, Audace Nakeshimana
Anne Niyigena, Robert Riviello
Second Place Prize
$300,000
University of California Irvine
Maternal obstetrics monitoring sock (MOMS)The hemodynamic monitoring sock is a low-cost, portable, point-of-care system to monitor pregnant women for preeclampsia, anemia, and hemorrhage. It continuously tracks blood pressure and heart rate and monitors blood flow; it can be used during and after delivery in low-resource settings.
Bernard Choi, Judith Chung
Rami Kheyat, Michelle Khine
Third Place Prize (tie)
$75,000
Raydiant Oximetry, Inc., San Francisco
LUMERAH™ near infrared spectroscopy platform to diagnose maternal hemorrhage and fetal distress during pregnancyThe LUMERAH™ system is a non-invasive platform technology that uses near-infrared spectroscopy to perform non-invasive pulse oximetry. The device is being developed for the diagnosis of fetal hypoxic distress during labor and delivery and maternal hemorrhage in the postpartum period. These conditions impact mothers across the developed and developing world.
Jennifer Cobb, Russ DeLonzor
Neil Ray
Mark Rosen, Paul Stetson
Third Place Prize (tie)
$75,000
Softsonics, LLC, San Diego
A wearable ultrasound/electrochemical sensor for maternal health surveillanceA conformal, stretchable and integrated wearable sensor providing dynamic and comprehensive monitoring of pregnancy complications, including sepsis, preeclampsia, and placental dysfunction. The sensor can monitor blood pressure, heart rate and lactate levels and can facilitate Doppler ultrasound imaging. It does not require a trained operator, enabling its use in low-resource settings.
Shu Xiang, Sheng Xu
Semi-finalist Prize
$50,000
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Point-of-care diagnostics tool for preeclampsia and anemia in pregnancyA fully integrated molecular diagnostic system on a miniaturized, disposable semiconductor chip to enable simple, low-cost, and early detection of preeclampsia and maternal anemia at the point-of-care. The technology will identify high-risk pregnancies and enable their close monitoring and early intervention and be, suitable for use in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries.
Nima Aghaeepour, Gary Darmstadt
Xuefeng Ling, Ivana Maric
Hyongsok Tom Soh, David Stevenson
Karl Sylvester, Victoria Ward, Grant Wells
Honorable Mention
VoluMetrix, LLC, Nashville, TN
Non-invasive venous waveform analysis (NIVA) for maternal healthAn accurate, easy to use, non-invasive wrist sensor to monitor key physiological variables by capturing low frequency venous waveforms. It is being developed to provide hemorrhage monitoring, early detection of pre-eclampsia and monitoring for acute respiratory distress. Ease-of-use and portability enable a healthcare provider to monitor a patient in the hospital or at home during the peripartum period and during delivery.
Annie Alvis, Bret Alvis
Colleen Brophy, Kyle Hocking
Honorable Mention
Dr. Mathias Wipf, MOMM Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland
Rapid Preeclampsia Diagnostic Test (RaPiD)A cost-effective method to rule-out or diagnose preeclampsia at the point-of-care via a simple-to-use blood test. This proof-of-concept prototype for a rapid diagnostic test for preeclampsia determines the concentration ratio between two preeclampsia biomarkers from a single drop of blood. It offers a low-cost solution for immediate and continuous patient monitoring during pregnancy check-ups.
Mathias Wipf
Honorable Mention
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Modifying maternal recumbent position to prevent preeclampsia and placental diseaseThe automated supine pressor test (Auto-SPT) is an adaptation of the supine pressor test used to predict the risk for preeclampsia in pregnant women based on elevation in their diastolic blood pressure when shifting from their left side to their back. Auto-SPT uses a standard brachial blood pressure cuff, smartphone, and position sensor to guide patients through the test and is designed to be used at home.
Jennifer Anderson, Craig Goergen
David Reuter
Honorable Mention
Washington Univ. in St. Louis
Maternal aRMOR: Preventing global maternal mortality and morbidity with a wearable deviceA low-cost wearable device that provides real-time data to inform early clinical decision making for hemorrhage and preeclampsia in high- and low-resource settings.
Francesca Bonetta-Misteli, Vicotr Davila-Roman
Antonina Frolova, Teri Medley
Christine O'Brien, Glennon Reitz
Leo Shumylovich, Peinan Zhao