SpectraCure has been awarded an R&D grant of approximately SEK 5 million through the EU Eurostars program, to develop an advanced image management system to be used together with the company's IDOSE technology. The development project will be carried out together with the German company MedCom GmbH, which will also receive a grant. SpectraCure has previously collaborated with MedCom, a collaboration which now is strengthened through the successful application.
SpectraCure's treatment method is based on optical fibers, placed with high accuracy at predetermined positions in the prostate, that guide laser light to the cancer tumor. The precision in positioning is a prerequisite for SpectraCure's IDOSE system to deliver the correct dose to the tumor without damaging surrounding healthy tissues. The positioning of the optical fiber needles is assisted by means of ultrasound imaging.
MedCom, based in Darmstadt, is a world leader in image-based navigation of minimally invasive interventions for diagnostics and therapy. The company is a supplier of technical solutions to several major medical technology companies such as Hitachi Medical Systems and Elekta. MedCom uses a more modern image processing and navigation control system than the technology SpectraCure uses today. With the greater precision that MedCom’s image processing has the ability to deliver, the time for patient treatment could be significantly reduced, giving major benefits both to create acceptance for SpectraCure's treatment method and to reduce health care costs.
"The Eurostars grant is a quality label for SpectraCure, both from a technical, medical and commercial point of view," says SpectraCure's CTO Johannes Swartling. “Our application ranked 12 out of over 300 qualified applications.”
About Eurostars
The Eurostars program is administered at EU level by the European innovation network Eureka, and the contribution is financed in Sweden through Vinnova. The German partner MedCom’s part of the project is financed through the German government. In total, the project contribution amounts to approximately 770,000 euros, of which approximately 475,000 go to SpectraCure and 295,000 to MedCom. The purpose of the Eurostars program is to support innovative research and development with high commercial potential in small and medium-sized enterprises. Applications to Eurostars are reviewed by expert groups in the EU that assess the quality of projects on the basis of several criteria such as scientific merit, feasibility, applicants' skills and commercial potential.
