Start-Up Intelligent Implants Awarded €4.5M

The European Union EIC Accelerator program has awarded €4.5 million blended funding to Intelligent Implants, a smart orthopedics start-up with locations in Sweden, Ireland, and the U.S.

The EIC Accelerator supports individual small and medium enterprises. In addition to funding, companies are also provided with mentoring and access to other investors and companies.

Intelligent Implants is bringing innovation to the field of spinal fusion surgery. Its SmartFuse system is “a wirelessly enabled orthopaedics platform that has been designed to remotely stimulate, control, and monitor bone growth.” According to the company, the SmartFuse system includes the following: an implantable cage that stimulates bone growth, an external unit that wirelessly connects to the implant to control the implant and transfer data from the implant, and a wireless cloud solution that receives implant data and enables physicians to remotely monitor bone growth.

OTW spoke with Intelligent Implants Executive Chairman Benjamin A. Hertzog, Ph.D. about the funding. Dr. Hertzog told OTW, “Following the FDA’s (US Food and Drug Administration) Breakthrough Device Designation earlier this year, this award from the European Innovation Council is further evidence of the transformative potential of Intelligent Implants’ SmartFuse technology and the team’s tireless efforts to bring this technology to the clinic.”

Dr. Hertzog also discussed how Intelligent Implants will use the EIC Accelerator funds, informing OTW, “Intelligent Implants has demonstrated the ability of the SmarFuse technology to significantly accelerate the formation of bone in a large animal (ovine) lumbar spinal fusion model.”

Dr. Hertzog continued, “The company is now working diligently to create an early clinical version of the SmartFuse system. The EIC funds will help accelerate the path to a first-in-human clinical study of the SmartFuse System for spinal fusion.”

Dr. Hertzog then explained to OTW what sets Intelligent Implants apart from its competitors, stating, “The SmartFuse technology platform is unique in that it combines a therapeutic benefit (i.e. accelerated bone growth and healing) with sensor technology to remotely measure the amount of new bone growth. Combined with the SmartFuse Cloud (including a physician portal and patient app), the SmartFuse System provides unprecedented control and real-time monitoring of the patient throughout the entire duration of healing. Our vision is to ultimately improve outcomes for spinal fusion patients by accelerating bone growth, reducing healing times, improving compliance and enhancing clinical decision making with real-time data.”

Dr. Hertzog continued, “Our initial focus is on spinal fusion, but we are already working on adapting the technology to address other orthopedic unmet clinical needs, including long-bone fractures and trauma.”

He then added, “Operating at the intersection of digital medicine and orthopedics, SmartFuse represents the future of medical devices that we have been talking about in the industry for many years now: smart implants that use technology to improve patient outcomes by providing a therapeutic benefit and data to support real-time clinical decision making.”