AdvaMed Convenes 13th Annual Symposium on Pediatric Device Innovation 

BOSTON—AdvaMed, the Medtech Association, convened the 13th Annual Symposium on Pediatric Device Innovation on October 18 at The MedTech Conference 2026 in Boston. In collaboration with the five U.S. Food and Drug Administration-funded Pediatric Device Consortia and with support from the Mussallem CHD Alliance, the symposium brought together innovators, clinicians, regulators, investors, and patient advocates to address the evidence and access barriers that keep promising technologies from reaching children. 

“Children need medical technologies developed for their unique needs,” said Ana Loloei, Vice President, Technology and Regulatory Affairs, AdvaMed. “The symposium brought together innovators and experts working to close gaps in pediatric device development and generate the evidence needed to advance technologies that meet children’s unique needs. We congratulate all of this year’s pitch competition participants, especially the winners, for advancing solutions to unmet pediatric needs.” 

This year’s theme was “Built for Children: Evidence Strategies for Pediatric Devices.” The symposium examined why children are often treated with devices that were not designed, studied, or labeled for pediatric use. Speakers discussed evidence strategies that can fit the realities of pediatric device development, including Bayesian methods, adaptive trial designs, real-world evidence, computational modeling, in silico clinical trials, and synthetic controls.  

FDA’s Suzanne Schwartz, M.D., M.B.A., delivered the opening keynote, “The Pediatric Evidence Imperative,” addressing evidence planning, device design, and early engagement. The program also examined how evidence can support pediatric labeling and the funding and coverage challenges that affect patient access. The program closed with a fireside chat featuring April Marrone, Ph.D., of FDA, moderated by Jim Hammerand of Arrowfly, on the coordinated actions needed to move pediatric devices from evidence generation and labeling to coverage and patient access.  

The program also featured a presentation from representatives of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), underscoring the importance of continued public-private collaboration in advancing pediatric innovation. AdvaMed is grateful for BARDA’s continued partnership and support for this work. 

Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., M.B.A., of MedStar Health Research Institute, built the symposium and led it for the past 12 years. Under her leadership, it has become a trusted forum for clinicians, innovators, patient advocates, regulators, funders, and industry partners working to advance medical technology for children. AdvaMed is grateful for her continued leadership of this year’s symposium. 

For the first time, all five FDA-funded Pediatric Device Consortia came together to support this event and the Make Your Medical Device Pitch for Kids! competition. Ten finalists presented their technologies, competing for a $300,000 pool of direct funding to support pediatric device development.  

Gold recipients were Altra, Inc., for its portable dual-chamber infusion pump, and Cerulean Scientific, for its drug-free tethered liquid perfluorocarbon (TLP) anti-fouling surface technology for implanted and indwelling devices. Silver recipients were Bloom Standard, for its RAPIDscan automated-sweep ultrasound system, and Maguro Surgical, for its MagStone kidney stone fragment retrieval system. AcQumen Medical received the Bronze award for its UltraTrac, a noninvasive pediatric hemodynamic monitor. Together, the five award recipients reflect the range of innovations being developed to meet children’s needs. 

The five collaborating consortia were: Alliance for Pediatric Device Innovation (APDI); Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics (CTIP); Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium (MPDC); Southwest Pediatric Device Consortium (SWPDC); and UCSF-Stanford Pediatric Device Consortium. 

AdvaMed, the world’s largest medical technology association, represents innovators advancing technologies to improve patient lives, enhance health care outcomes, and drive economic growth. 

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