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NTAC Challenge Winners - 2022

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. 

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 delivery

A stand-alone, integrated mobile health tool for community health workers to monitor postpartum recovery by women following a cesarian delivery.

See press release

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.

See press release


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 pregnancy

The 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.

See press release


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 surveillance

A 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.

See press release


Shu Xiang, Sheng Xu




Semi-finalist Prize

$50,000

Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Point-of-care diagnostics tool for preeclampsia and anemia in pregnancy

A 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.

See press release


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 health

An 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.

See press release


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.

See press release


Mathias Wipf




Honorable Mention

Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Modifying maternal recumbent position to prevent preeclampsia and placental disease

The 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.

See press release


Jennifer Anderson, Craig Goergen

David Reuter



Honorable Mention

Washington Univ. in St. Louis

Maternal aRMOR: Preventing global maternal mortality and morbidity with a wearable device

A 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. 

See press release


Francesca Bonetta-Misteli, Vicotr Davila-Roman

Antonina Frolova, Teri Medley

Christine O'Brien, Glennon Reitz

Leo Shumylovich, Peinan Zhao