Description
The medical company transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 30 years, the company advances science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare.
The company is active in the field of interventional cardiology, rhythm management, electro-physiology, peripheral vascular interventions, neuro-modulation, endoscopy and urology.
In order to constantly innovate and to meet the high demands in its technological need the company searches for novel technologies and innovations.
The company is involved in the development of a variety of innovative diagnostic tools and technologies. One of the interests concerns Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). IBD comprising Crohn´s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), are chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract lacking a cure. IBD is proposed to result from a complex interplay between host genetics, the gut microbiota, aberrant immune responses and high-cholesterol diets. The present IBD medical management is far from optimal, having a high proportion of non-responders and significant side effects. IBD is characterized by unpredictable episodes of flares and periods of remission. Tools that accurately forecast disease course would substantially aid therapeutic decision-making.
Here, the challenge can be stated as: “Innovative solutions via endoscopic or external platforms for the diagnosis or treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease”. The question appeals to an out of the box approach and which relates to diagnostic and therapeutic expertise. Due to the sensitive area of usage, the solution must adhere to local regulatory requirements.
The company would expect the stage of the technology to be at or beyond proof of feasibility and preferably already be proven in commercial applications, not necessarily medical. Therefore, the company is looking for SMEs or technical research groups who can help them to accept this challenge.
The envisioned partners are experienced in the field of the development of endoscope delivery platforms, such as means of diagnosing, local drug delivery methods, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in more accurate endoscopic treatment. External technologies, such as wearables, self-diagnosis, symptom-tracking apps, are also of great interest. The company envisions a commercial agreement with technical assistance, a license agreement or a technical cooperation agreement. When serving the purpose also other agreements can be envisioned.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This technology request is part of an innovation challenge and is published on an open innovation platform from the 26th of October and will close on the 27th of November. If an organization does express interest in collaboration with this company before closing date, it will be guided through this open innovation platform and be introduced to the company’s experts. Mind that posts on this platform are not confidential.
Next step is that the company will select the SME's with whom they would like to cooperate in the development of the solution. Once the challenge is closed, EOI's for this technology request will be handled in the traditional way.
Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
The requested solution comprises and creative and out of the box approach and is a mix of medical, biological and technological expertise.
The company is looking for expertise in the following disciplines:
• Medical devices such as endoscopy
• IBD, CD, UC diagnose and therapy
• Drug delivery
• Robotics
• Technology architecture & design
• Mathematics (algorithms) and AI
• Creative thinking
