Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Technology (RADx® Tech) for Maternal Health Challenge

Overview

The National Institutes of Health awarded $8 million in cash prizes to accelerate development of technologies to improve maternal health outcomes for those who live in areas lacking access to maternity care. The Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Technology (RADx® Tech) for Maternal Health Challenge prioritized home-based or point-of-care diagnostic devices, wearables and other remote sensing technologies to improve postpartum healthcare in these regions. The postpartum period is defined as the first year after giving birth or the end of a pregnancy, and it accounts for a large proportion of maternal deaths in the United States.

Topic Areas

NICHD, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), and the NIH Office of the Director co-sponsored this challenge as part of NIH’s Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative. The initiative supports research to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths and to improve health for women before, during and after delivery. IMPROVE includes a special emphasis on health disparities and populations disproportionately affected, such as African American/Black women, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Asian Pacific Islanders, Hispanics/Latinas, very young women, women of advanced maternal age, and people with disabilities.

The challenge prioritized technology solutions that are developed sustainably, at low cost and can be used across societal, economic, and cultural contexts. For example, solutions should be easy to use by individuals in their homes or by health care personnel in local pharmacies, community-based clinics, primary care physician or pediatrician offices, Tribally operated hospitals, or clinics and by emergency medical services. Solutions should also enable continuous health care monitoring during the first year of the postpartum period.

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