Active implantable devices have been used for years to treat chronic conditions with minimal side effects: pacemakers and defibrillators (cardiac rhythm management), cochlear implants (deafness), deep brains stimulation (Parkinson), spinal cord stimulation (chronic pain) etc.
Recently the interest in nerve stimulation has surged because it has been found that mild vagal nerve stimulation can be used as a complementary, or even replacement treatment for (chronic) autoimmune diseases such as, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, colitis, congestive heart failure, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, Alzheimer, Parkinson etc.
To make bioelectronic medicines a practical reality, the next generation of smart implantable devices will need to be high miniaturized and autonomous and cost effective so that they can be implanted on the selected nerve with a simple minimally invasive procedure.
With an increasingly aging population, the (cost) effective treatment of chronic diseases is becoming increasingly important to curb the burden of the cost of healthcare. It is widely recognized that many chronic diseases find their roots in inflammatory abnormalities, often involving an over active immune system.
Today, the treatment of chronic autoimmune related diseases with biological cytokine suppressors places a heavy impact on our healthcare systems. Therapies with modern biological compounds such as Etanercept, Adalimumab, and Infliximab cost between $15,000 and $25,000 a year per patient, and even these are effective in only 40% of the cases.
The prospect of a therapy that can be administered with less side effects, lower total costs and with higher efficacy is daunting. Based on the preliminary results obtained so far, it is even justified to consider bioelectronic medicines not only as a last resort, but as a second or first line of therapy.
in Moore4Medical
In Moore4Medical two key technology platforms will be developed that will be essential for the realization of the next generation of active implantable devices: wireless power transfer and selective nerve stimulation:
Wireless power transfer
A technology platform to efficiently transfer energy to implants deep inside the body by means of focused ultrasound will be developed. The objectives are to:
Selective nerve stimulation
Two technology platforms for neural interfaces will be developed for that match the human anatomy and that can efficiently and selectively trigger nerves:
Moore4Medical has received funding within the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking (ECSEL JU) in collaboration with the European Union’s H2020 Framework Programme (H2020/2014-2020) and National Authorities, under grant agreement H2020-ECSEL-2019-IA-876190