10054526Brain guard - a novel medical safety deviceClosedGrant for R&DInnovate UKThis project is industrial research to gain critical knowledge for a new low-cost medical device which will be called the Brain-Buddy. It has a novel sensor technology that automatically alerts if flow in drainage lines (EVD) from the brain is interrupted. EVDs provide lifesaving stabilization in patients with acute brain injury after a trauma or brain bleed or when the brain pressure rises for other causes (infection, hydrocephalus). Each year 69 million individuals worldwide suffer a brain trauma. Annualy, 1.6 million cases requiring neurosurgery occur in high-income countries, 4.5 million occur in lower-middle-income countries. In addition to trauma, EVDs also provide benefits in the treatment of acute hydrocephalus. There are approximately 30,000 cases of hydrocephalus requiring neurosurgery in HICs and 740,000 cases in LMICs per year. Nvention believe the Brain-Buddy will highly benefit patients as, despite appropriate maintenance and surveillance of an EVD, complications such as obstruction and infection may arise in up to 54%. It is important to detect a blockage early as, in the early stage, gentle aspiration with a syringe or flushing (with saline or blood thinners) is more likely to clear the blockage. Also, sustained brain pressure above 40mmHg is associated with poor outcome, brain pressure above 30 mmHg is an independent predictor of higher short-term mortality. Research studies showed that brief periods of as little as 37minutes of pressure above 20mmHg are associated with lower outcomes at 6 months in adults with traumatic brain injury. These potentially devastating consequences reinforce the need for continuous monitoring. There is currently no device on the market to alarm in case of a blockage. With the Brain-Buddy, nurses will be alerted if flow stops and do not need to spend their valuable time continuously watching the system. This grant will support the critical investigation of the devices' potential and limitations. We will evaluate the prototype in the laboratory to see if it meets user requirements. The market will be assessed regarding strategic value/ease of access. The grant will allow strategically position of Nvention and refining our company growth and expansion strategy. The project is innovative as: * there is no such device on the market, * it lowers risk to patients by automatically alerting the clinician of a problem, rather than relying on staff noticing that fluid flow has stopped, * the Brain-Buddy is exceptionally low cost, making it widely affordable. Proof of concept experiments were successful.