Acoustic Blood Cells Sorter

Project Information

ABC-S

Grant agreement ID: 735942

DOI

10.3030/735942

Project closed

EC signature date 26 July 2016

Start date 1 August 2016

End date 31 December 2016

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Health, demographic change and well-being

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

AENITIS TECHNOLOGIES
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ABC-S (Acoustic Blood Cells Sorter)

Reporting period: 2016-08-01 to 2016-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Every year, 45 million patients in the world are transfused with Labile Blood Products (produced from blood processing).
The blood transfusion sector is a sector with a strong social solidarity symbol. Nearly 98.5% of the blood collected in the world is donated by volunteers who are not compensated or paid. Furthermore, blood transfusion is a medical and scientific discipline with a high level of transversal collaboration between different health disciplines and is central and key to public health.
Health risks and the limitations of blood processing methods are two of the main issues in this field.
Aenitis Technologies is a spin-off of the ESPCI Paris, a prestigious research engineering school in Paris. Aenitis develops and designs innovative multi-patented devices for continuous, contactless and pressureless separation or filtering of cells or biological elements in suspensions, using acoustic forces.
This approach is clearly positioned as a breakthrough innovation compared to the “traditional” techniques (such as centrifugation), used for almost thirty years for blood processing.
Aenitis’ approach drives large added values in the global blood processing devices and consumables market. The SME instrument Phase 1 program, named “Acoustic Blood Cells Sorter (ABC-S)”, helped Aenitis to confirm its goal the feasibility of it and its technological disruptive approach potential.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Aenitis Technologies’ ABC-S SME Instrument project phase 1 was on 3 axes :
1 – Development of in-silico methods to simulate acoustic radiation forces on cells suspended in flow in a microfluidic device.
2 – Description of functional specifications and pre-industrial parts specifications of the future Aenitis’ device.
3 – Improving Aenitis’ Business Plan on its Market access strategy.

In collaboration with Electric Ant Lab B.V. (NL), an in silico demonstrator on Aenitis’ technology has been developed. It confirmed the feasibility of this goal. Thus, this in silico modelization method will be up-scale and reinforced in the next month. It will permit to assess existing and to prototype new designs of a microfluidic device for continuous-flow cell fractionation based on acoustophoresis principles. It is a world first.

In collaboration with Creative Eurecom S.A.S. (FR), Aenitis finalised its first specifications to raise basic technological components to be integrated and tested in a simulated environment of the Aenitis’ Medical Device equipment. It also integrates global preindustrialization proposals, gantt planing and budgets. This step is crucial to support a fund rising planed in April 2017.

In collaboration with Bio-Act Innovative Research Application S.A.S. (FR) and with Jean-Pierre HERMET (coach selected in this SME Instrument Phase 1 project), a market approach study on blood processing medical devices with an insight on disposables part of the market permit to anticipate more clearly Aenitis’ market strategy positioning. This work confirmed Aenitis’ innovation project has a high potential in terms of business competitiveness and market access. The blood banks’ market is conservative and Aenitis shall present both its added value in term of labile blood product quality increase and in blood processing cost decrease.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

This SME instrument phase I program is a success. Certainly thanks to this program, the project is continuing in good and favorable conditions.

ABC'S will revolutionize blood processing while on the therapeutic and quality aspect than on the logistics and cost of the blood processing sector.

Beyond technical and market potential results of the phase 1 of the ABC-S program, the technology have a potential major impact to permit easier access to countries in development to blood processing. Indeed, the ABC-S would not requied as complexe infrastructures and large blood volumes to treat to legitimated such investments. Thus, small care center will be able to process blood.

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