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Patient Modelling & Simulation System for planning and prognosis of Adult Spine Surgery

Objective

"SimOSpine addresses the clinical challenge of revision rates in spinal fusion surgery, primarily caused by Proximal Junctional Disease (PJD) and Adjacent-Level Disease (ALD). In long thoracolumbar fusions (LTLF), PJD-related revision rates exceed 20% within 2 years. In short lumbar fusions (SLF), ALD complications peak at 3–5 years, with revision rates reaching 8%, while 14%–18% of procedures are identified as unnecessary. These failures are fundamentally mechanical, driven by altered lever arms adjacent to rigid instrumentation. Clinicians currently lack quantitative ""co-pilots"" to assess these risks pre-operatively.
SimOSpine aims to transition a validated research technology (TRL 4) into a functional beta (TRL 5) Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) for real-time, patient-specific predictive prognosis. Exploiting breakthrough research from the ERC-funded O-Health project, it leverages Physics-Informed AI and Finite Element (FE) metamodeling to quantify failure risks. Unlike competitors, it delivers precision biomechanical descriptors at clinical timescales without high-radiation CT scans.
The project achieves its goals through four pillars:
Real-Time Biomechanical Analysis: AI surrogates trained on extensive FE simulation atlases calculate risk indexes in seconds.
X-ray-to-3D Reconstruction: Advanced transformer architectures generate high-fidelity 3D models from 2D biplanar X-rays, ensuring clinical accessibility and reduced radiation.
Mechanobiological Integration: For SLF, the system integrates Parallel Network biology to predict long-term tissue turnover, acknowledging the mechanobiological nature of ALD.
Clinical Validation & Regulatory Compliance: Expanded validation with leading hospitals and implementation of ISO 13485/14971 frameworks aim for Class IIa MDR certification.
SimOSpine will drive the creation of a university spin-off offering a privacy-compliant SaMD for surgeons to optimize fusion strategies, reducing complications and unnecessary surgeries."

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Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) ERC-2026-POC

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Host institution

UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA
Net EU contribution
€ 150 000,00
Address
PLACA DE LA MERCE, 10-12
08002 Barcelona
Spain
Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data

Beneficiaries (1)