Project description
Innovative fixation device for ultrasound probes in heart disease diagnostics
While diagnostic ultrasound is crucial for monitoring cardiovascular diseases, the majority of healthcare professionals develop some form of work-related musculoskeletal disorder from the strain of handling the ultrasound probe during examinations. The Dutch medtech company Usono has developed an innovative fixation device for ultrasound probes, eliminating the need to manually keep the probe in place. This solution not only improves working conditions, but it also increases the reproducibility of scanned images and significantly reduces procedure time. The EU-funded ProbeFix project aims to bring this technology to a mature readiness level and explore the possibility of expanding into the European and eventually the global market.
Objective
Cardiovascular Disease accounts for 45% of mortality in Europe as a whole, a number which will increase as more and more people reach old age. In sonography, which is crucial in diagnosing CVD, up to 90% of professionals are experiencing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD, also called RSI). There is evidence that 20% of sonographers suffering from WRMSD eventually suffer a career ending injury. This is highly undesirable, especially considering the ever growing demand for cardiac health care professionals.
In 2016, new industry standards for the prevention of WRMSD in sonographers have been introduced, but these have not eradicated the problem. USONO has developed the ProbeFix, a fixation device for ultrasound probes, which removes the need to manually keep the ultrasound probe in place. This solution greatly improves sonographer’s working conditions, with the added benefits of increasing reproducibility of scanned images across different operators and patients, and significantly reducing the time an echo scan takes.
USONO is will introduce the ProbeFix to the EU market in the next 1-2 years, quickly realizing an impact on cardiac health care and sonographer’s working conditions.
There are over 100,000 cardiologists/sonographers in the EU, working in approx.. 10,000 hospitals and cardiac centres. These treat 49 million patients a year, a number that is steadily growing, with a total of over 75 million cardiac echography scans per year.
USONO has started selling the ProbeFix in Europe. The main objective of this SME Phase 1 project is to explore and assess the possibilities of scaling-up the ProbeFix in the EU and eventually the rest of the world and bring it ultimately to TRL 9 in Phase 2. Furthermore, the business case and plan needs to be updated, elaborated and further improved, in order to effectively and efficiently introduce the ProbeFix in the EU and, later on, in the world market.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- social sciences economics and business business and management business models
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine cardiology cardiovascular diseases
- natural sciences physical sciences acoustics ultrasound
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
5656 AE EINDHOVEN
Netherlands
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.