FDA Awards $2M In Grants For Kids' Medical Devices

MATTHEW PERRONE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is awarding $2 million to spur the development of medical devices for children, who face increased risks during surgery because so few implants are designed for their use.

The FDA said Monday it will distribute the grants among three researchers in Michigan, Massachusetts and California.

The announcement comes two years after Congress passed legislation to address the problem, which is little-known outside the medical world.

The vast majority of medical devices are made for adults. Doctors work around the problem by jury-rigging adult-sized devices to fit smaller patients. But they acknowledge that such ingenuity has limits and that the risks to patients are often high.

Problems with using adult devices in children range from the mundane — oversized oxygen masks — to the complicated — pacemaker batteries that run out because children's' hearts beat faster. There is virtually no data on the safety of using adult devices in children, though experts say the complications can be fatal.

While the U.S. market for medical devices is estimated at more than $90 billion, the demand for pediatric devices is minuscule, creating little financial incentive for companies like Medtronic Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. to invest in the space.