Overview:

The Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Technology (RADx® Tech) Fetal Monitoring Challenge will award up to $2 million in prizes to accelerate the development of diagnostic and monitoring technologies to reduce the risk of fetal morbidity and mortality and thus improve fetal and neonatal health outcomes. Successful technologies developed in this Challenge will directly measure one or more parameters of fetal health status during the late antepartum and/or intrapartum periods of pregnancy. These parameters will be used to provide actionable information that can be used for clinical decision-making and be implementable at either the point of care or in a home-based setting. Examples of desired technologies include, but are not limited to, wearable devices, smartphone-enabled diagnostic tools, integrated sensing and/or imaging technologies, digital health platforms, and in vitro diagnostic devices or tests. Importantly, technologies must have a reasonable likelihood of market entry within the next 5 years and must have strong potential for accessible, cost-effective use and impact in low-resource settings, such as low- and middle-income countries as well as areas of high-income countries where there is limited access to high-quality prenatal healthcare. 

Innovators participating in this Challenge will initially submit a proposal describing in detail their fetal health diagnostic or monitoring technology, anticipated clinical impact, and plans for continued development and implementation in low-resource settings. Winners of Phase 1 will be invited to deliver a live presentation and technology demonstration in Phase 2 at an event held on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD on January 30, 2024. Winners of Phase 2 will receive a cash prize each and advance to the Phase 3 technology development sprint where they will compete for substantial cash prizes by de-risking and further maturing their technologies with support by a RADx Tech Project Team of healthcare technology commercialization and content experts. 

Please visit the Challenge.gov RADx Tech Fetal Monitoring site for additional details and official rules. The submission period for this Challenge has ended.