POSITION
will accelerate innovation in smart medical instruments by working towards of open technology platforms
Smart Catheters | Objectives | Impact
ABOUT POSITION
Smart Catheters
Smart catheters and instruments add “eyes and ears” to minimally invasive instruments. Many clinical studies have underlined their value in improving the outcome of interventions, and in reducing cost. However, originating from traditional catheter manufacturers, these devices are without exception made with outdated 20th century technology resulting in a non-optimal performance and increased cost due to manual assembly.
Impact
POSITION will enhance the competitiveness of Europe in the rapidly emerging field of minimal invasive surgery. It will enable the further development of the European R&D and manufacturing capability in an extremely innovative industrial segment with a high economic importance, not only encompassing the micro-fabricated device itself, but also the various value chains that they enable. Finally, by bringing smart catheters into the domain of high volume manufacturing, POSITION will improve the quality of health-care at manageable cost.
Objectives
In POSITION a pilot line for the realization of the next generation of smart catheters and implants will be established. In this pilot line scalable open technology platforms based on essential technologies contributed by many European companies will be integrated in one manufacturing network. POSITION will enable the electronic industry to take the lead in the development of these live saving instruments. The next generation smart catheters and implants developed in POSITION will:
- Use open platform technologies accessible to multiple end-users that are steered by roadmaps enabling end-users to focus on their applications;
- Bring digitization at the tip to reduce wires and thus assembly cost and pave the way towards standardization and wireless connectivity to “unclutter” the cath lab;
- Enable a better diagnosis by using state of the art sensors and (ultra-sound) MEMS devices, and signal processing directly at the tip of the instrument;
- Streamline the work-flow in the cath lab, resulting in a more intuitive work environment for the surgeon, resulting in less errors and a more efficient workflow.
POSITION-II has received funding within the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking (ECSEL JU) in collaboration with the European Union’s H2020 Framework Programme (H2020/2014-2020) and National Authorities, under grant agreement Ecsel-783132-Position-II-2017-IA