Doing More for Children’s Health Around the World

Our vision for a healthier future starts with the people who will be leading it someday soon.

Children. So much starts with them, including the future we’re working toward. How can we improve children’s health? And how can we build on these improvements to reach as many of them as possible, all over the world?

Our ideas range from very big to very, very, very small.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to children’s health, and so we explore all options available to us to advance it.

Here are the Abbott health tech innovations, products and educational partnerships through which we’re helping kids every day.

Care that Comes from the Heart

Let’s start with two innovations that go straight to the heart.

The first is our 15 mm Masters heart valve — the world’s smallest mechanical heart valve — which was developed to address an unmet need for high-risk pediatric patients, often those with complex heart defects.

It was a case of our team taking on a titanic challenge: Re-engineering our existing mechanical heart valves to help young children who had limited options.

We rose to a different challenge to help premature infants born with a persistent patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), an opening in the heart that increases the blood flow to the lungs and workload on the heart, which puts babies’ health at risk.

Our Amplatzer Piccolo Occluder for PDA closure, smaller than a pea in size, helps treat PDA without the need for open-heart surgery.

It’s hard to overstate the impact of these devices — and not just on the patients who receive them.

“Working on a device specifically designed for children takes the work to another level,” said Chad Green, director of research and development for cardiac surgery in Abbott’s Structural Heart business. “Going to work every day thinking my work will help people is great. Knowing it will help children makes it that much better.”

Diabetes Care for the Many

Our FreeStyle Libre portfolio of continuous glucose monitors has helped millions of people around the world — including children.

Our FreeStyle Libre 2 and 3 Plus sensors are cleared for use by children living with diabetes age 2 and older.

CGM technology can keep parents aware of their child’s glucose levels in real time and eliminate the need for children to use fingersticks¹ to draw blood for measuring their glucose levels throughout the day.

When kids are free to be kids and do what they enjoy, that’s a win.

Aiming at a Big Goal: Childhood Malnutrition

When it comes to wins, you can never have too many — even if you are a perennial, worldwide soccer power like Real Madrid.

And one thing we are focused on beating, with the club as dedicated partners, is childhood malnutrition.

As the Health Sciences and Nutrition Partner of Real Madrid Football Club and Global Partner of the Real Madrid Foundation, we’ve teamed up to provide malnutrition screening and thousands of hours of nutrition education.

The malnutrition screening centers on another innovation: our Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) z-score tape, an easy-to-use tool that screens for malnutrition in children.

Future lives, future leaders, future promise — all depend on making sure children can live their healthiest, fullest lives today.

References

¹ Fingersticks are required for treatment decisions when you see Check Blood Glucose symbol and when your readings from the system do not match symptoms or expectations.