St. Peter’s University Hospital partners with NJIT, Drexel University to form Center for Infants and Children

Combining medical expertise, engineering innovation and cutting-edge technology, St. Peter’s University Hospital, New Brunswick, Drexel University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology have come together to form the first biomedical technology center in the region geared specifically for infants and children. Located in St. Peter’s, the MedTech Center for Infants and Children will develop leading device technology to improve pediatric care.

"Pediatric intensive care relies heavily upon technology for successful treatment in a wide variety of disorders," said Dr. Harel Rosen, director of the new center and director of St. Peter’s Infant Apnea Center. "Unfortunately, today’s state-of-the-art technology used in this treatment fails to address a number of important medical issues in the pediatric and neonatal populations, limiting our potential to provide ideal care."

According to Rosen, new biomedical technology typically targets adults, not children. Therefore, medical advancements are used to diagnose and treat adults well before they’re used to treat children, slowing technological progress in this area. "We intend to flip the whole model of biomedical technology," said Rosen. "We will achieve a critical mass of interaction among scientists, clinicians and engineers to create a constant flow of new innovation for the treatment of infants and children."

The group envisions a building to be erected on St. Peter’s campus in the future, where clinicians and engineers will work together to brainstorm new technologies and evaluate how they work and can be improved. Laboratories at partner engineering schools will also serve as sites for initial technical development.

The center has identified and initiated work on several programs, including brain oxygen monitoring, rapid detection of infection, heart rate variability analysis and a new form of light treatment for jaundiced infants.

Established as a not-for-profit entity, the center will rely on corporate donations and possibly State and Federal appropriations to support active projects, research and operating costs.

"Ultimately, the technology created to care for infants and children will generate the funds to keep the operation running. "

According to Dr. Mark Hiatt, a founding member of the center and St. Peter’s director of neonatology, "St. Peter’s offers an ideal venue for this enterprise because of its long history of leadership in newborn and pediatric medicine. By housing the center in such a rich, academic region, we believe it will serve as a resource and as a means to nurture and expand our ability to provide superior pediatric and neonatal medicine."

Another critical asset of the northern New Jersey locale is NJIT’s participation in the center. As New Jersey’s leading public technological university, NJIT will focus engineering and science know-how on medical problems faced by infants and children. 

Drexel University, a nationally recognized leader in bioengineering research and development, has on its faculty some of the world’s leading experts in the field. The university’s School of Biomedical Engineering has a specific interest in pediatric bioengineering, according to Dr. Banu Onaral, founding member of the center and the school’s director.

"This partnership supports our mission to introduce new technologies specifically conceived and designed for pediatric populations, taking into account their particular needs," said Onaral.