Today, approximately 2.5 million people suffer from bladder cancer of different stages globally, with 420,000 newly diagnosed each year. In Europe, a total of 118,000 new cases and 52,000 deaths were estimated annually. Cancerous cells develop in the bladder before eliminating it from the body through urination. Bladder cancer causes bladder infection, blood in urine and change in urination habits such as frequent urination, pain or burning sensation during urination. Commonly, bladder cancer is treated by Trans-Urethral Resection of Bladder Tumour (TURBT) which has up to 61% risk of tumour recurrence resulting into costly repeat operations which can cause scarring to the bladder.
Cancerous cells develop in the bladder due to the old age, smoking, obesity, alcohol drinking and red-meat consumption. Bladder cancer causes bladder infection, blood in urine and change in urination habits such as frequent urination, pain or burning sensation during urination. The current treatment of bladder cancer consists of the use of the ineffective TURBT surgery causing 61% recurrence rate in the patient and causes harmful side-effects such as incontinence and scarring of the bladder in the long term. Moreover, the need for repeated surgeries and other treatments cause excessive economic burden to health-care system and patients.
U-TURBT is an add-on device for the treatment of bladder cancer through an innovative device to perform Trans-Urethral Resection of Bladder Tumour (TURBT). U-TURBT has the shape of an umbrella attached to a resectoscope, the latter being already used in surgeries of the bladder. The umbrella consists of wires made of a patent-protected Shape-Memory Alloy (SMA) platform technology, which changes shape through electrical current. U-TURBT cover and containts the resected tumour cells within to reduce the spillage and disemmination thus reducing the recurrence rate of the bladder cancer in the patient. The overall objectives of the project were to develop and establish define a mvp and establish a sound product development plan. This would be concluded by planning the in field demonstration in a relevant environment to validate the engineering upgrades which were defined during the project.
