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Children’s National Hospital, Compremium AG Partner on Pediatric Medtech

An initial focus area will be the use of Compremium’s technology in congenital heart disease patients.

Photo: Compremium AG.

Children’s National Hospital is teaming up with Swiss medical device company Compremium AG to co-develop and commercialize medical technologies for children. This first-of-its-kind agreement leverages the expertise of Children’s National in pediatric healthcare innovation and Compremium’s non-invasive platform technology for diagnosing pressure-related conditions, accelerating advancements in pediatric medicine.

Diagnosing pressure-related conditions without complicated, invasive procedures has long been a challenge in the medical community. Compremium’s technology aims to transform the diagnosis of pressure physiologies, including venous pressure, intracranial pressure, and tissue pressure conditions with their non-invasive, point of care solution. Through this strategic collaboration, Children’s National will serve as the Pediatric Innovation Hub for Compremium, leading clinical studies, research projects, and commercialization efforts focused on non-invasive pressure monitoring and other breakthrough technologies.

“This partnership is a pivotal step in advancing pediatric-specific technologies to address critical gaps in care,” said Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., vice president and chief innovation officer at Children’s National. “Compremium’s non-invasive, real-time pressure monitoring technology not only has the potential to transform pediatric care, but also demonstrates how prioritizing pediatric innovation can pave the way for broader adoption and scalability to adult populations.”

An initial focus area will be the use of Compremium’s technology in congenital heart disease (CHD) patients. Pediatric cardiologists require frequent, non-invasive monitoring of central venous pressure (CVP)—a crucial measure of blood volume returning to the heart and overall circulatory function. Improved CVP data could provide new insights into cardiovascular health, potentially leading to better interventions and preventing long-term complications such as developmental delays and learning difficulties, which affect approximately 33% of CHD patients nationwide.

“Non-invasive CVP monitoring for the pediatric population is the holy grail of cardiac care, a long-awaited advancement that has the potential to revolutionize care,” stated Yves d’Udekem, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Children’s National. “Pediatric cardiac surgeons worldwide are eager for this breakthrough solution, which could transform how we monitor and treat cardiovascular patients.”

For Compremium, this partnership marks an important milestone — its first major initiative in pediatric healthcare. “We are honored to collaborate with Children’s National Hospital,” Compremium CEO Vincent Baumann commented. “This initiative allows us to accelerate and expand the clinical adoption of our solution, particularly for a vulnerable patient population.”

The collaboration agreement was led by Children’s National Innovation Ventures, the commercialization arm of Children’s National Hospital, dedicated to advancing regulated medical products that improve pediatric health. With a strong focus on industry partnerships, Innovation Ventures’ four core pillars focus on advancing pediatric-driven technologies, building strategic industry alliances, facilitating funding to de-risk and validate innovations, and managing intellectual property and licensing to drive commercialization—all by supporting both internal and external innovation to accelerate pediatric health solutions. Additionally, Innovation Ventures leads two federally-funded accelerator programs, supporting early-stage companies and academic teams in navigating regulatory, reimbursement, clinical, and commercialization pathways.

“By integrating Compremium’s technology with AI-driven advancements, we aim to enhance accuracy, enable real-time data analysis, and provide predictive insights—critical capabilities for improving pediatric care” Eskandanian added. “Our pediatric providers are eager for innovative, child-friendly monitoring solutions that reduce the need for invasive procedures, and this collaboration is dedicated to making that a reality.”

Washington, D.C.-based Children’s National Hospital was established in 1870 and currently is one of the top 10 children’s hospitals in the nation ranked in all specialties evaluated by U.S. News & World Report. The Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus opened in 2021, a first-of-its-kind pediatric hub dedicated to developing new and better ways to care for pediatric patients. Children’s National has been designated three consecutive times as a Magnet hospital. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a community-based primary care network and specialty care locations in the D.C. metropolitan area, including Maryland and Virginia. Children’s National is home to the Children’s National Research Institute and Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation. It is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels. In 1987, Children’s National founded Safe Kids Worldwide, a non-profit dedicated to reducing unintentional injuries among children through comprehensive national and global education, research and advocacy.

Compremium is a medical device company from Bern, Switzerland, developing solutions to diagnose pressure conditions. Its proprietary technology of combining ultrasound and pressure sensing was pioneered by Dr. Ulrich Baumann. The technology has been proven in more than 40 clinical studies and has the potential to help diagnose over 30 medical indications. The lead indication for diagnosing tissue-related conditions has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Compremium expects to submit additional FDA and CE submissions this year. A device prototype has been in use by NASA on the International Space Station (ISS) for eight years.

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