Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MovEAID (A novel wearable medical device and eHealth system to improve the mobility of patients withhemiparesis)
Période du rapport: 2017-06-01 au 2017-11-30
REMOD is a young German SME, specialized in rehabilitation technology and rehabilitative medicine. We deliver innovative training for chronically ill patients, and develop rehabilitation devices linked to the training content.
We have developed, patented, and demonstrated (to TRL6) a novel wearable medical device which is embedded into a special vest to correct the posture and movement of patients suffering from hemiparesis and are now miniaturizing the device and developing the MovEAid eHealth system, containing the device and vest, for use by hemiparesis patients and health care professionals.
With the help of the SME instrument, we now like to scale up our Minimal Viable Product to TRL9 and aim to bring the initial MovEAid system to the Market in 2020.
We have developed, patented, and demonstrated (to TRL6) a novel wearable medical device which is embedded into a special vest to correct the posture and movement of patients suffering from hemiparesis and are now miniaturizing the device and developing the MovEAid eHealth system, containing the device and vest, for use by hemiparesis patients and health care professionals.
With the help of the SME instrument, we now like to scale up our Minimal Viable Product to TRL9 and aim to bring the initial MovEAid system to the Market in 2020.
This Phase 1 innovation business project was executed during a period of 6 months and achieved all the proposed objectives. We have identified all relevant aspects of the technical and commercial feasibility of our business innovation. The major challenge identified in our product-market fit was that the usability experience of potential end-users must be improved, meaning that we will have to design the prototype to find the best match with use cases of the device. In parallel we will use the findings of this Ph1 and the respective feasibility study with business plan, to look for financial support. After this we will proceed with the application or a SME-I Ph2.
One in five people experience a stroke at some point in their lives, and half of all strokes lead to paralysis of one side of the body, called hemiparesis. There are around 550,000 hemiparesis cases per year in the EU. Strokes cost the EU about €34.3 billion per year, of which €17 billion is spent on the treatment of hemiparesis. These costs do not include indirect costs due to incapacity to work, or unpaid care provided by relatives and friends. As such, strokes and hemiparesis are of great socioeconomic importance.
Since there is no known cure for hemiparesis, treatment focuses on rehabilitation to minimise further loss of body function and reduce pain, muscle regression, or spastic paralysis due to reduced mobility. Existing rehabilitation methods includes: weak dorsiflexion, orthosis, hippotherapy and the use of therapeutic and neurorehabilitation devices. Such rehabilitation accounts for €8 billion per year of direct costs in the EU. Mobility improvements can be made with intense physiotherapy, but these improvements are not lasting due to brain damage which affects movement memory. Currently no solution exists that leads to a lasting improvement in the mobility of hemiparesis patients.
The level of suffering of hemiparesis patients is enormous. On the one hand, such patients often suffer from chronic, sometimes severe pain. On the other hand, disability often means the inability to work and financial constraints, social exclusion, isolation and concomitantly depression. Due to the disability, also the family is burdened with the need to take over most of the care.
Thanks to our innovation MovEAid, for the first time, hemiparesis patients now have the chance for a long-term effective therapy method and thus to have a normal and self-determined life, without pain or exclusion.
Since there is no known cure for hemiparesis, treatment focuses on rehabilitation to minimise further loss of body function and reduce pain, muscle regression, or spastic paralysis due to reduced mobility. Existing rehabilitation methods includes: weak dorsiflexion, orthosis, hippotherapy and the use of therapeutic and neurorehabilitation devices. Such rehabilitation accounts for €8 billion per year of direct costs in the EU. Mobility improvements can be made with intense physiotherapy, but these improvements are not lasting due to brain damage which affects movement memory. Currently no solution exists that leads to a lasting improvement in the mobility of hemiparesis patients.
The level of suffering of hemiparesis patients is enormous. On the one hand, such patients often suffer from chronic, sometimes severe pain. On the other hand, disability often means the inability to work and financial constraints, social exclusion, isolation and concomitantly depression. Due to the disability, also the family is burdened with the need to take over most of the care.
Thanks to our innovation MovEAid, for the first time, hemiparesis patients now have the chance for a long-term effective therapy method and thus to have a normal and self-determined life, without pain or exclusion.