Project description
Therapeutic nervous system stimulation moves into the era of fibre optics
The nervous system modulates and mediates information propagation via both electrical and chemical signals. Disruption to these signalling pathways can lead to pathologies such as epilepsy or depression. Neural stimulation, particularly of the vagus nerve, located in the neck, has proven to be beneficial in some cases. Implantable vagus nerve stimulators are currently delivering electrical impulses using standard metal wires that go under a patient’s skin and connect to the nerve. Replacing these metal wires by optical fibres offer several advantages including improved safety, compatibility with MRI, better control over stimulation parameters, and increased device lifetime. The NAOS project has developed an implantable neurostimulator using optic fibres. EU-funding is supporting development of a business plan to get it to patients faster.
Objective
The objective of this innovation project is to develop a disruptive implantable neurostimulator for the treatment of epilepsy with the
goal to place it on the market by 2021.
Neurostimulation is a $4.7 billion market and one of the fastest-growing areas of medicine, that has been approved for the treatment
of several neurological disorders. Among these, epilepsy is the most frequent nervous system disease. Of the 50 million people
suffering from epilepsy, with 3.7 million in Europe, approximately one third of them are resistant to medication but respond well to
the neurostimulation.
Neurostimulators are small implanted devices stimulating nerves or brain tissue. The innovative aspects of the project are based on a
Synergia Medical’s patented concept and consists in replacing wires by optical fibres.
The innovation will improve the traditional therapy and brings the main following competitive advantages:
- it renders the neurostimulator compatible with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diagnosis
- it provides a highly tunable stimulation and ultra low power consumption
- it improves safety due to electrical isolation and allow for a smaller size implant
The main objective of this feasibility study is to complete the business plan by:
- completing a market study and refining specifications of the neurostimulator with key opinion leaders in the field of epilepsy;
- manufacturing prototypes of neurostimulators to validate stimulation capabilities, low power consumption, compactness, optical
chain efficiency and estimate production costs;
- refining the development and production planning, including budget and human resources, based on cost estimates and test
results;
- finalizing the selection of subcontractors involved in the production chain;
- filing additional patents and realizing a complete FTO.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology epilepsy
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- engineering and technology medical engineering diagnostic imaging magnetic resonance imaging
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology parkinson
- natural sciences physical sciences optics fibre optics
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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.
1435 Mont-Saint-Guibert
Belgium
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.