FDA-Regulated AI-Enabled Medical Devices With Pediatric Indications

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies hold promise for faster and more accurate devices in health care; however, little is known about their availability to pediatric patients. A comprehensive analysis of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory submissions is necessary to identify technologies with pediatric labeling.

To characterize AI devices marketed in the US, identify those with pediatric indications, and provide clues on AI-specific barriers to pediatric device innovation.

This retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using public data from the FDA's AI-Enabled Medical Device List. Marketing submissions reviewed by the FDA between November 1995 and June 2024 were analyzed.

Prevalence of pediatric AI devices and their main characteristics (eg, clinical area, review time, and year of FDA marketing decision).

Among 952 submissions, 42 (4.4%) included pediatric age ranges (0-17 years). The first pediatric-inclusive device was cleared in 2015, and 5 exclusively pediatric technologies were introduced between 2020 and 2024. Of 18 clinical areas, radiology comprised 723 of all devices (75.9%) but only 18 of the devices specifically labeled for pediatrics (42.9%), whereas neurology comprised 34 devices overall (3.6%) vs 13 pediatric devices (31.0%); 10 clinical areas (55.6%) were missing among pediatric devices. The median (IQR) FDA review time was significantly longer for pediatric than for nonpediatric devices (162 [114-228] days; 95% CI, 151-212 days vs 134 [87-214] days; 95% CI, 149-162 days; 2-sided Mann-Whitney U test P = .049). Based on National Clinical Trial Identifiers in FDA summaries, clinical trial registration was noted in 6 pediatric (14.3%) vs 20 of 906 nonpediatric (2.2%) submissions.

In this study, pediatric devices were rare, emerged recently, and had longer review times and a higher proportion of registered clinical trials compared with nonpediatric devices, suggesting expectations for more pediatric-specific evidence despite unchanged statutory standards. To address gaps in pediatric device development, the FDA should standardize age labeling and validation requirements for AI-enabled technologies.