PORTFOLIO

Project presentations on the website

Every project supported by Gebert Rüf Stiftung is made accessible with a web presentation that informs about the core data of the project. With this public presentation, the foundation publishes the funding results achieved and contributes to the communication of science to society.

Close

VascuSAFE

Editorial

The project management is responsible for the content of the information provided.

Cooperation

This project, funded by Gebert Rüf Stiftung, is supported by the following project partners: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Laboratory of Microsystems, LMIS4

Project data

  • Project no: GRS-041/16 
  • Amount of funding: CHF 320'000 
  • Approved: 24.01.2017 
  • Duration: 05.2017 - 02.2020 
  • Area of activity:  Pilotprojekte, 1998 - 2018

Project management

Project description

Today stroke is the second global-leading cause of accidental death worldwide. In particular, hemorrhagic strokes - bleeding in the brain - are particularly dangerous with a mortality and severe disability rate of 51%. It affects 660'000 persons annually and most often young people aged between 30 and 65. One of the main cause of mortality is attributed to a serious complication; a delayed spasm of the cerebral arteries. This uncontrolled blood vessels blockage leads to a lack of oxygen and nutriments in the cerebral tissues with dramatic consequences; entire brain regions can be destroyed. According to the physicians involved in the management of cerebral diseases this complication is highly difficult to detect and lacks any safe treatments.
In order to address this strong medical need, we developed a drastically new therapy. VascuSAFE is a novel generation of electroactive catheter which can resolve the spasms and reestablish blood flow on demand.
Based on several years of research, this minimally invasive therapy aims to become a future standard of care for the efficient management of patients affected by stroke. Ultimately this technology intends to save patients’ lives while fighting the disastrous consequences of hemorrhagic stroke.

What is special about the project?

A key element of this technology is the therapy itself, an endovascular procedure involving the controlled delivery of electrical stimulation from a blood vessel. This approach is particularly innovative and, on top of that, minimally invasive. Brain arteries are simply reached with a catheter from a single femoral artery entry point therefore avoiding complex open-brain surgeries.

Status/Results

Thanks to the support of the Gebert Rüf Foundation we were able to develop and validate preclinically a disruptive endovascular device and its associated therapy. The preclinical in vivo validation was conducted in collaboration with expert physicians in neuro-endovascular procedures. The product safety was successfully validated during this phase.
The next key milestones are set on achieving the second phase of the pre-clinical (in vivo) demonstration of the VascuSAFE therapy, in a chronic onset this time. Once the device and method are validated, the solution will have to go through a design freeze followed by a verification & validation phase which will ensure the safety and adequacy of the solution. The validation phase will comprise a human clinical trial in selected centers throughout Switzerland and Europe.
A startup company - Artiria Medical SA - was created in order to market this innovative neuroendovascular solution including another breakthrough device, with the perspective to achieve clinical and market excellence to the benefit of the patients.
In addition to the support of the Gebert Rüf Foundation, Artiria received the support of several other startup initiatives including the EPFL Innogrant (FIT), BRIDGE, ENABLE EPFL, Venture Leaders, Venture Kick I-II-III and Innosuisse. Artiria ranked first in the Venture competition 2018 (Business Idea) and was the Winner of MassChallenge 2019.

Links

Persons involved in the project

Last update to this project presentation  08.03.2024