Periodic Reporting for period 1 - STABILIS (Stabilis – Providing relief for tremor patients)
Reporting period: 2023-06-01 to 2024-05-31
Over 30 million people worldwide suffer from involuntary shaky hands, known as tremors. This symptom is commonly associated with Parkinson’s disease, but is even more prevalent for people with essential tremor.
Tremors make simple everyday tasks, such as eating and drinking difficult or impossible. Consequently, patients feel ashamed and frustrated, require help with daily activities, and ultimately experience a poor quality of life.
Current currents are often not sufficient in reducing symptoms. Generally speaking, pharmacological treatments suppress around 50% of the symptoms for half the people. Surgical intervention can provide much greater reduction, but at the costs of being very invasive, and eligible for a small patient population.
STIL developed a novel method of using artificial damping to joints in the forearm to reduce tremors. This anti-tremor orthosis is fully mechanical, and was clinically effective for essential tremor in the forearm. A subgroup of patients nevertheless.
The goal within the EIC project is to go far beyond that. The Stabilis, the next generation anti-tremor orthosis, is aimed to serve the entire patient population and covered by health insurance, thereby truly creating a new treatment option for millions affected by tremors.
Tremors make simple everyday tasks, such as eating and drinking difficult or impossible. Consequently, patients feel ashamed and frustrated, require help with daily activities, and ultimately experience a poor quality of life.
Current currents are often not sufficient in reducing symptoms. Generally speaking, pharmacological treatments suppress around 50% of the symptoms for half the people. Surgical intervention can provide much greater reduction, but at the costs of being very invasive, and eligible for a small patient population.
STIL developed a novel method of using artificial damping to joints in the forearm to reduce tremors. This anti-tremor orthosis is fully mechanical, and was clinically effective for essential tremor in the forearm. A subgroup of patients nevertheless.
The goal within the EIC project is to go far beyond that. The Stabilis, the next generation anti-tremor orthosis, is aimed to serve the entire patient population and covered by health insurance, thereby truly creating a new treatment option for millions affected by tremors.
For the first reporting period, we made great development steps for the Stabilis device, and a novel method of fitting the to-be product to the user. The Stabilis device, even in its preliminary form, already showed promising results during usability tests.
Apart from that, we investigated clinical parameters that can be used to provide cost-effective evidence.
Apart from that, we investigated clinical parameters that can be used to provide cost-effective evidence.
More (clinical) research and development - and afterwards validation with stakeholders - is needed to bring them into a market-ready shape.
Both the adoption of distributing partners, and medical specialists is needed for good market implementation of the product.
We foresee this innovation can be both ground-breaking in the way tremors are treated, and revolutionary in the O&P industry.
Both the adoption of distributing partners, and medical specialists is needed for good market implementation of the product.
We foresee this innovation can be both ground-breaking in the way tremors are treated, and revolutionary in the O&P industry.