Venturewell BMEidea Application

What is BMEidea?

BMEidea is a nationwide competition for biomedical entrepreneurs who are in a university. The competition seeks to fund new health-related technologies that meet existing clinical needs. This is accomplished with three different prizes for the most promising proposals: $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place, and $2,500 for third place.

Our Proposal

In order to specifically treat thrombi that may cause ischemic stroke, a technique called direct aspiration thrombectomy has been developed. It uses the idea of a vacuum force to siphon a clot from blocking an artery using a catheter, leading to the removal of the threat to the patient. Our team proposes the construction of a dynamic model that will allow physicians to mimic thrombectomies in an adult, and optimize the thrombectomy procedure, improving quality of care and surgery success.

Our team intends to use the model to increase thrombectomy efficacy by increasing the vacuum force at the tip of the aspiration catheter. The proposed solution is increasing intracranial pressure (ICP) in order to increase the vacuum that we are able to pull at the tip of the catheter. The flow model designed is composed of a box, representing the cranial cavity, with silicone tubes, representing the vasculature, running through the box. A clot is simulated by completely or partially occluding the tube so as to severely restrict flow. The pressures on either side of the clot and inside the box (ICP) are measured, providing us with the data necessary to study the effect of increasing ICP on the vacuum force at the tip of the catheter.

There is the possibility of using computer simulations to mimic direct aspiration thrombectomy procedures. Bekker et al. (1999) used a computer simulation to understand the effects of anesthesia on cerebral blood flow and intracranial pressure. Although this type of method may be easier to implement and result in lower expenses, performing real time procedures is likely to improve the efficacy of the surgery, making our proposed model a better solution for the medical industry.

We believe that people will choose our solution over others because to our knowledge, this phenomenon has never been modeled, and is entirely unique. Flow models of the cranial cavity have been designed before, however our design combines accuracy with simplicity and portability to guarantee an exceptional product.

This device is not intended to be used with therapeutic function. The primary function of this device is to model and test various parameters of the cranial environment as they relate to surgical procedures. Thus, the target of this device is in research settings. FDA approval will not be necessary to bring this device to the market. Additionally, since this will not play a role in patient healthcare directly, no Medicare and Medicaid consideration exist.

Once commercially available, our product would be available to neurosurgeons, researchers, and medical device companies. We would provide our model for approximately $250 directly to hospitals and medical schools who intend to use it for practice thrombectomies as well as selling it directly to the medical device companies. We would also sell the model for a discounted price to nonprofit organizations who desire to help third world countries improve hospital conditions.

BMEIdea Application Proposal