10145147Pre-clinical validation and first-in-human translation of a novel brain implant to treat glioblastoma (GRACE)ActiveCollaborative R&DInnovate UKQV Bioelectronics, a company in Manchester, is making a new medical device to treat brain cancer. The first type of brain cancer it will treat is glioblastoma. This is the most common brain cancer in adults. Very few people diagnosed with glioblastoma live for more than a year. The standard treatment for glioblastoma has been the same for 30 years. It includes brain surgery, chemotherapy (drugs), and radiotherapy (x-rays). A new treatment is electric field therapy, or tumour treating fields. It uses electricity to kill the cancer without harming the healthy brain. It is an approved treatment for brain cancer in the UK, Europe and USA. This method is up to ten times better than normal brain cancer treatments. However, there is only one device available currently to provide electric field therapy in glioblastoma. It has sticky pads that attach to the head and is powered by a battery in a backpack. Many people get rashes on their scalp from the pads. It is hard to keep the device running all the time to treat the cancer non-stop. It is also not currently available on the NHS. Patients in the UK must pay for the device themselves or have private health insurance that covers the cost. QV Bioelectronics is building a new brain implant for electric field therapy called GRACE. As it is an implant, it stays hidden and can treat the cancer non-stop after surgery. GRACE is being built with help from surgeons, cancer doctors, patients and their carers. The first version of GRACE is almost ready for final safety tests and human use. This research project will take 3 years. It has two main steps. The first is finishing the design and the final safety tests of GRACE. These tests will make sure the implant is safe to be used in humans and will be an effective treatment. The second step is using GRACE in humans for the first time in a small study. This study will take place in Cambridge and Edinburgh. It will include up to 4 patients with glioblastoma who have already tried standard treatments. QV Bioelectronics aims to make GRACE available through the NHS. Electric field therapy is a new treatment for glioblastoma and QV Bioelectronics wants to make it as accessible as possible. This will help to provide longer, better quality lives for brain tumour patients.