Project description DEENESFRITPL Innovative portable medical device for Parkinson’s disease Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects 10 million people globally. No cure is available. Existing therapies focus on treating symptoms that affect patients’ quality of life. The EU-funded GONDOLA project proposes a portable medical device (Gondola®) delivering a non-invasive treatment named “AMPS”, made for PD patients. The device delivers mechanical stimulations to specific points in both feet, generating sensory inputs involved in the execution of walking functions. This facilitates the communication routes between body peripheries and the Central Nervous System, restoring an efficient flow of sensory information that can elicit immediate benefits on balance and gait. Gondola® AMPS can reduce gait hesitation, slowness of movements and improve independence and quality of life even in presence of freezing of gait. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative brain disorder, characterised by the inability of a person’s brain to produce a neurotransmitter called dopamine, lessening a person’s ability to regulate body motions. PD affects 10m people globally, its prevalence is expected to double by 2040. There is no cure for PD, current therapies focus on treating symptoms that undermine patients’ quality of life. Costs associated with PD are higher than its prevalence, causing substantial economic burden on individuals, families and society. In 2004, the annual spending in Europe on PD was €10.7b. As costly as they are, these therapies improve motor symptoms in the early stages of PD, but over time, patients have more and more reduced response to medications and become more disabled. Thus, they cannot be considered as ideal with regard to efficacy, long-term effectiveness and safety. NINDS (part of the US NIH) set recommendations addressing Gait as one of the 3 top priorities for advancing basic clinical research on PD. We have aligned ourselves with NINDS’ strategy through development of GondolaTM.GondolaTM is a portable medical device made for people living with PD. It delivers a non-invasive neurostimulation treatment named Automated Mechanical Peripheral Stimulation (AMPS). It is based on physical neurostimulations of specific points in both feet, which allow to increase the afferent inputs from the peripheral nervous system to the spinal cord, and induce a better functioning of the central pattern generator (the mechanism that regulates movements in the body). Four clinical studies have documented that AMPS is effective in improving motor skills in PD, particularly slowness of movements and freezing of gait. Users have derived the following benefits from the device: Reduced Freezing of gait, gait hesitation, slowness of movements, improved independence, self-confidence, fluidity in walking and balance, reducing the risk of falls and improving the quality of life. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiologymedical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsmedical and health sciencesclinical medicinephysiotherapymedical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologystrokemedical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologyparkinson Programme(s) H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs Main Programme H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies Topic(s) EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020 - SME instrument Call for proposal H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020 See other projects for this call Sub call H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1 Funding Scheme SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1 Coordinator GONDOLA MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES SA Net EU contribution € 50 000,00 Address ROUTE DE LA CORNICHE 4 BIOPOLE BUILDING SC-A 1066 EPALINGES Switzerland See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Région lémanique Vaud Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 71 429,00
