Eurostars Project RESTORE: Restoring Locomotion in Paraplegic Patients Based on Targeted Epidural Electrical Stimulation

The Eurostars-funded project “RESTORE: Restoring locomotion in paraplegic patients based on targeted epidural electrical stimulation” project has been officially approved. The project will kick-off in April 2017 with funding for 30 months. Zurich MedTech AG (ZMT) and the IT’IS Foundation, along with Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht (UMCU) and the Life Science School of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), are partners in this endeavor, which is led by the Swiss-Dutch company G-Therapeutics B.V. (GTX). 

RESTORE aims to provide patients who have suffered incomplete spinal cord injuries with electrical epidural stimulation to restore their capacity to walk. To achieve this, patient-specific pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data will be used to predict induced motor responses and enable the design of optimized electrode configurations to match each patient’s individual anatomy. In this context, ZMT will develop four new modules in the Sim4Life simulation platform with enhanced capabilities to simulate neuro-activation within realistic functional environments. The modules  are expected to be also very attractive to the emerging “electroceuticals” medical device sector.

The Eurostars initiative, which is co-funded by EUREKA member countries and the European Union Horizon 2020, supports innovative research projects led by international teams of research institutions and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The program specifically targets the development of rapidly marketable innovative products, processes, and services for improved quality of life.