By Jessie Yount, Orange County Business Journal

Cactus Medical LLC, an Irvine-based medical device maker, received a $1 million Phase II grant from the National Science Foundation.

Cactus Medical is developing a device to detect fluid in the ear to improve the diagnosis for ear infections in children, as well as prevent the over-prescription of antibiotics due to misdiagnosis.

The new funds will be used to complete device development and safety work for submission to the FDA.

Cactus Medical paused its clinical work earlier this year, according to Chief Executive Samir Shreim, and used the time to create a better, more cost-effective design to provide to the end-user: pediatricians in primary care and emergency room settings.

When it is safe to resume clinical work, Shreim said the company expects to enroll at least 90 children in a six to nine-month trial at UCI Medical Center and La Veta Surgery Center in Orange.

The recent award brings the firm’s total funds to nearly $1.5 million, with support from the National Institutes of Health and the West Coast Consortium for Technology and Innovation in Pediatrics, an FDA-sponsored accelerator based out of Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Read full article in the Orange County Business Journal.