Parkinson's disease: getting trembling hands under control
22 million people worldwide with Parkinson's disease and essential tremor suffer from violent, involuntary tremors in their arms. This makes it difficult for these people to perform everyday tasks such as eating and drinking. This problem is increasing with the aging population, but there is still no effective and satisfactory treatment for it.
22 Millionen Menschen weltweit leiden unter heftigem, unwillkürlichem Zittern in den Armen.
Driven by the goal of finding a technical solution for people with Parkinson's disease or essential tremor, IJsbrand de Lange, after studying biomechanical engineering, founded Stil B.V. in the Netherlands. He sought methods and techniques to suppress tremors and stabilize the arm. By developing a wrist brace that uses "anti-vibration" to suppress tremor, he succeeded.
Even as a child, I was fascinated by technology and wanted to become an inventor. Now, as an entrepreneur, I can give people a better life with medical technology I developed myself. That is very inspiring. I can't wait until the style brace is on the market and can actually help millions of people.
IJsbrand de LangeGründer der STIL B.V.
Necessary scientific proof is a lengthy and costly factor in medical device development. With this in mind, De Lange turned to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (NEA) - a partner in the Enterprise Europe Network - for possible support in (further) developing and funding his product.
He learned that Eureka Eurostars funding could support his development plans. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute (IBMT), which has expertise in tremor suppression technology and hardware development, a project proposal was prepared and other European partners were sought for project participation.
With a brief description of the planned project, the existing expertise, and the requirements sought, an inquiry was launched through the Healthcare Sector Group and the Technology Database of the Enterprise Europe Network. As a result, Bayern Innovativ, also a partner in the Enterprise Europe Network, was able to place the Bavarian company senetics healthcare group GmbH und Co. KG, a development and consulting company (SME) in the fields of R&D, medical technology, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Today, the Swiss University of Applied Sciences FHNW completes the consortium.
After the grant was approved, the project "Supressing Tremor to a Bearable Level" (STABLE) started in early 2020. Within this project, senetics is responsible for the development of the energy management system (EMS). The EMS both supplies energy to the various device components and helps manage energy resources between these components. The battery system has successfully passed initial tests at senetics and is already entering its first integration test this year with another wrist brace component being developed in parallel by Stil B.V. As a second task, senetics will develop a test setup in which the finished device will undergo safety tests before it can enter preclinical testing.
The support and cooperation with Bayern Innovativ, especially with the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), was very valuable for us. Without the EEN's commitment, the project would not have been so successful.
Dr. Wolfgang SeningGeschäftsführer der senetics healthcare group GmbH & Co. KG
Are you also looking for ...
... targeted project partners, innovative technologies or competencies to work together on technological challenges? Contact us! We are here for you!
