This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
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1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation initially came to life when…
The stentrode is a next generation brain machine interface. It is the first neural interface that can be implanted in the brain without the need for open brain surgery. It was initially patented by Dr Thomas Oxley and then developed at the University of Melbourne following substantial funding from DARPA. The spinout company SmartStent is commercialising the STENTRODE: an electrode-bearing stent, where the stent comprises the matrix for affixing small electrodes into a fixed position. SmartStent’s technology can be applied to a range of applications and is currently being developed to enable robotic-human augmentation for the treatment of paralysis.
The purpose of this innovation is to…
By recording brain activity and converting the acquired signals into electrical commands, our neural interface will enable patients with paralysis to walk again, through the direct brain control of prosthetic limbs and exoskeletons.
It does this by…
SmartStent’s flagship product, the Stentrode, is a self-expanding stent-based electrode array that is implanted by cerebral angiography. This minimally invasive day procedure will allow access to areas of the brain that control the movement of limbs, without having to perform open brain surgery.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
SmartStent holds patent-pending technology that has borrowed inspiration from artificial cardiac pacemakers: safe, long-term electrode deposition in veins to record and stimulate adjacent brain tissue. This ground-breaking work has been accepted for publication in the high impact scientific journal Nature Biotechnology. Previous intracranial electrodes required direct brain implantation and led to chronic inflammation on the brain surface.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Our vision is to return function and mobility to patients with complete paralysis. We aim to enable them to walk using by developing a device that re-connects the brain to an exoskeleton.
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
This problem has not been solved in the past. Brain machine interfaces are a new technology. We aim to be first to market with an endovascular brain machine interface.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
BrainGate is an electrode implanted into the brain surface via open brain surgery. A low number of patients have been implanted with success however commercialisation efforts have been hampered by chronic brain inflammation due to the direct brain contact.
5. TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
Stroke and spinal cord injuries are the leading causes of
disability, affecting 1 in 50 people. Paralysis usually occurs in sudden and unexpected circumstances, and can have a devastating impact on daily function. 87% of all spinal cord injured individuals are eventually discharged from hospitals to private homes, where a challenging new life begins. McKinsey Global Institute has predicted that the global market of paralysis will reach 50 million in advanced economies by 2025. The industry of ‘robotic human augmentation’ is proposed to have an economic impact of up to $2 trillion.
It is available for sale through…
Our exit strategy is to achieve a partnership or acquisition via a multinational neurovascular medtech corporation. Distribution channels exist in this industry, with current pipelines including stents and coils.
Our marketing strategy is to…
Our marketing strategy will be focused around educating physicians over the potential benefits to their patients affected by spinal cord injury and paralysis.
FINE PRINT: This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
