Washington, D.C.-based Children's National Hospital and Cerner are launching a digital health innovation accelerator as part of the organizations' pediatric health IT institute, according to a June 11 news release.
Children's National and Cerner launched the Bear Institute in 2013 to support pediatric healthcare technology and innovation. With the first annual Bear Institute Pediatric Accelerator Challenge for Kids, Children's National and Cerner aim to accelerate startup competition.
Last year, children’s digital health innovation funding received $118 million compared to the $21.6 billion invested in solutions for the rest of the population, according to the news release. With the accelerator, pediatric healthcare startups and college student teams can submit innovations following four tracks: rare disease, patient education, remote patient monitoring and telehealth.
The competing teams will display their technologies and innovations to pediatric hospitals and ambulatory centers across the U.S. Startups chosen as finalists will present their projects to a panel of judges in August, who will choose a winner for each of the accelerator's four innovation tracks. Winners will receive cash prizes of more than $100,000, on-site pilot opportunities and support for software development.
Click here to learn more about the competition.