Project description
A device for predicting the risk of preterm birth
Babies born before 37 weeks of gestation are considered premature and have an elevated risk of short- and long-term medical complications including death. Common causes of preterm birth include maternal conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Early detection is difficult because symptoms are mild and resemble those occurring in normal pregnancies. To address this problem, the EU-funded Pregnolia project has developed an innovative device that determines the stiffness of the cervical tissue as an indicator of preterm birth risk. The device is safe and easy to use, offering twice the sensitivity of ultrasound, which has been the gold standard for preterm birth detection.
Objective
Approximately 135 M babies are born yearly worldwide, of which 14.94 M are born at pre-term. Only in Europe 5.1 M babies are born annually, of which >0.38 M are born at pre-term. Babies born before 37 weeks are premature and can have short- and long-term medical problems or die in 7% of the cases. Thus, European health cost are estimated in €50,000 per premature baby, this is, ~€20 billion per year. However, there are no fully reliable methods to diagnose the risk of preterm birth (PTB) to date and only 40% of women at risk are detected. Ultrasounds, biomarkers blood and fetal/placenta protein analysis are the main alternatives, but none of them solve the current problem. Thus, the remaining 60% women at risk cannot be benefited from preventing preterm birth therapies. These women will most likely have a spontaneous and uncontrolled preterm birth, which is extremely dangerous for baby and mother, leading to long-term health baby problems.
In response, we have developed Pregnolia device to determine the risk of preterm birth. Our patented device is the first one in the market based on the determination of cervical tissue stiffness, which has twice the sensitivity to the ultrasounds “gold standard”. The device is formed by a reusable control unit with a disposable single-use probe. It is simple, safe, easy to use and integrated into routine gyneacological consultations. With our solution, the majority of women, 80% out of 100% at risk, can be treated to prevent premature birth. Thus, Pregnolia diagnosis will enable gynecologists to take key decisions about preterm birth management (bed rest and hormone medication) and pregnant women will be able to adapt their lifestyle.
Our device will enable a reduction of PTBs costs of 42%, which could represent savings up to 8.4 € billion for the EU healthcare system. Furthermore, after 4-year sales, it will give net revenues of ~€99 M, net profits of ~€56 M and considering the investment of €8M, a ROI of ~7 euro per € invested.
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
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine obstetrics
- 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.
8952 Schlieren
Switzerland
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.