Project description
An innovative shunt for treating hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is a serious condition associated with the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. Treatment consists of the implantation of a shunting device to drain CSF into the chest or abdomen. The scope of the EU-funded SINUSHUNT project is to develop a novel implantable medical device that drains CSF into the sinus vein, which is a natural resorption place of CSF. The use of innovative stent technology overcomes the obstruction issues associated with conventional outlets and increases the lifetime of the shunt, reducing the need for re-operation and other complications.
Objective
Hydrocephalus is a devastating neurological condition caused by accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) on brain, and If left untreated, it can be fatal. The only treatment option is surgical, either implantation of a shunting device placed centrally in the brain, or, in some cases, by use of an endoscope going through the brain substance to its central part. The main problem in the industry is that conventional treatment systems (shunts) are based on a technology from 1950s and they are failing on average in 4-8 years, due to blockage or over-drainage. This results in 100 000 re-operations annually and brings a lot of complications (incl. increased infections) to the patient. Furthermore, this inefficiency represents an additional cost of €1.5B for the health care systems annually. To offer a solution to these problems, CSF-Dynamics is developing a new disruptive implantable medical device for treatment of hydrocephalus. The main innovation is draining the cerebrospinal fluid into sinus vein that is a natural resorption place of CSF, instead of conventional chest or abdomen. The hunt system uses novel stent technology as an outlet into the sinus vein, to avoid obstruction. SinuShunt competitive advantages are: 1) significantly increased life-time of the shunt, therefore reducing amount of re-operations; 2) Better quality of life for the patient due to the close to normal drainage of the brain-fluid, avoiding over-drainage and complications thereof. Hydrocephalus market is currently valued at €1.2B and is expected to reach a value of €1.6B by 2023. The market is steadily growing at CAGR of 4.4% during this time period. The market growth is propelled by growth in aging of population, increasing awareness of the condition and constantly improving diagnostic tools. Our end-users are hydrocephalus patients and users neurosurgeons. By 2026 we expect to sell our solution internationally, employ additional 112 people, and achieve a ROI of 40.6.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
2800 KGS. LYNGBY
Denmark
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.