www.finetech-medical.co.uk

Funded under the European Union 6th Framework Programme.

HEALTHY AIMS

General information

Healthy Aims is an EU Framework VI project that secured over 16M Euro of funding over 4 years for the 26M Euro project. There are 26 partners, including 6 SMEs, across 9 EU countries. These partners are developing a range of medical implants to help the aging population and those with disabilities. The project is funded under the IST Microsystem programme and combines experts from a wide range of disciplines.

The medical products being developed include:

• Cochlear implant
• Retina implant and glaucoma sensor
• Functional electrical stimulation for upper limbs ( FES)
• Sphincter sensor for oesophageal and urological applications
• Implantable pressure sensor to monitor intracranial pressure
• Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for human body motion and to trigger the FES

What are FineTech Medical doing?

FineTech Medical Limited are leading the work package related to Functional Electrical Stimulation.  Within this work package, a number of products and technology demonstrators are being developed to help restore control of the wrist and hand grasp action to people who have suffered a stroke or neurological insult.

The first of these products is a 2-channel surface stimulator designed by the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Salisbury District Hospital.

This device uses four electrodes which are stuck to the surface of the arm at the appropriate motor points.  The controller has a built in accelerometer that detects pre-programmed user movements - these movements are used to trigger the stimulation of the appropriate muscles to give the desired effect.

The second product, the STIMuGRIP™ system, is being developed by FineTech Medical Ltd.  This product provides the same functionality as the first , but uses an implant in place of the surface electrodes.  This ensures that the electrodes are always correctly located and removes the burden of donning and doffing electrodes each day and

the associated care and replacement routine.

The third part of the project is being produced to bring together some of the most cutting edge implant technology.  It will provide six stimulation channels, controlled using a wireless body area network (BAN) and powered by an implantable rechargeable battery.

The partners involved in this part include:

• Salisbury District Hospital
• SAFT - Implantable rechargeable battery
• Zarlink - Implantable wireless communications
• University College London - Implant packaging
• University of Salford - Stimulation triggering
• ETB - Motion sensor

Dissemination; 18 October 2007 - Healthy Aims feature on ICT Results website

http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults