Nimble Diagnostics is a spin-off company developing a microwave-based technology to monitor stents implanted in patients with cardiovascular, vascular, renal or pulmonary diseases. It is a spin-off of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), the University of Barcelona (UB) and the UPC that has developed a device that will identify possible obstructions in stents quickly and non-invasively.
Stents are one of the most widely implanted medical devices in the world for their ability to restore the proper flow of blood or other fluids. These stents are commonly used to treat cardiovascular disease, helping to prevent myocardial infarction or to treat the patient’s lingering symptoms. Unfortunately, however, once implanted they can become obstructed or damaged, although symptoms only appear when the stent has already lost 90% of its functional capacity, and it is too late for healthcare personnel to prevent a worsening of the patient’s condition.
In these cases an invasive procedure called angiography must be performed, which consists of introducing a catheter into the artery to directly inspect the stent. Obviously, this is a very complex and invasive procedure, in which the patient needs anesthesia, receives a lot of X-ray exposure and requires a hospital stay of at least 24 hours, which entails very high associated costs.
All this leads to a situation in which medical professionals cannot act on the problem until it has already manifested itself, which increases the incidence of serious complications, such as stroke, heart attack or even sudden death, which could otherwise be prevented.
After identifying this unmet need, researchers from theGermans Trias i Pujol Health Sciences Research Institute (IGTP), the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) have formed Nimble Diagnostics, the spin-off that will commercialize a device to monitor stents using microwave-based technology. The Nimble system will make it possible to identify potential cardiac problems before it is too late, in a completely non-invasive, fast and easy-to-use way. This will allow early treatment to be implemented to prevent serious complications, as well as to identify and optimize patients’ pharmacological treatment, correlate symptoms with stent function, and approach patient treatment holistically.
The spin-off will be led by Oriol Iborra (CEO) and researcher Susana Amorós (CTO). The co-founders are Dr. Carolina Gàlvez, Dr. Oriol Rodríguez and Dr. Antoni Bayés, from the IGTP; from the UPC, researchers Joan O’Callaghan, from the RF and microwave Systems, Devices and Materials (RF&MW) research group, and Jordi Romeu and Lluís Jofre from the Department of Signal Theory and Communications, and linked to the Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering (ETSETB), and Professor Javier Tejada, from the UB. The objective is to perform preclinical tests in pigs and carry out technical stress tests during 2022, and to be able to start commercializing the technology from 2025.
SOURCE: Born Nimble Diagnostics to monitor stents through microphones, Press Room, UPC.