The development of the ISMORE system has been acknowledged under the “Impact Expected” category of the EARTO Awards.
The technological centre and Basque Health Cluster member Tecnalia has received a European Award for the development of an innovative system that reconnects the brain, muscles and movements in patients with paralysis: it hacks the nervous system and decodes the intention to move to restore control over joints.
The ISMORE system offers patients an effective treatment, allowing them to carry out functional movements and interact with objects, activating functional neuroplasticity. This offers a personalised, non-invasive treatment that considerably improves on current rehabilitation therapy.
This technology can reduce rehabilitation costs by 30%, as well as patient hospitalisation time. The impact it may have on society one in use is the main reason why EARTO has awarded this prize to our investigation centre.
Cerebrovascular accidents
The occurrence and prevalence of cerebrovascular accidents make up a yet unresolved issue and is one of the main causes of severe long-term disability. In Europe alone there are almost eight million severely and chronically disabled patients. This is estimated to cost around USD 34 billion worldwide.
Current rehabilitation therapy are not effective enough, and treatment is more intense. This problems has been shifted over to clinics, healthcare systems and insurers, who need to pay for the costs of rehabilitation, at thousands of euros per patient.
This project has been completed in collaboration with University of Tübingen, the Berkeley University of California, the Free University of Brussels, the Basque Health System, the University of the Basque Country, the Donostia and Cruces University Hospitals, Biodonostia HRI and SCReN.
EARTO Innovation Awards
EARTO is the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations, founded in 1999. The network consists of over 350 RTOs (Research Technology Organisations) in over 20 countries.
Members of EARTO represent 150,000 highly qualified researchers managing a wide range of innovation infrastructures. Every year since 2009, EARTO has run the Innovation Awards in recognition of the best innovations of its member companies, and highlighting their role in a modern and innovative European economy.
The winner of the “Impact Expected” category was the Finnish centre VTT for the project “Eggs without chickens”, and the third prize went to the Swedish firm RISE for “Super Filaments”.
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