NEURON GUARD

Neuron Guard, recognized as the best European startup in HEALTH category (Startup Europe Awards - SEUA 2017), is developing a life-saving medical device that aims to become the standard of care for Targeted Temperature Management (TTM) therapy. Every 7 seconds around the world a person suffers of Acute Brain Damage because of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). They are the most costly and prevalent killers in the last 15 years (15 million deaths by CVD in 2015), an... d the leading cause of disability (the global incidence rate of TBI is 200 per 100k people per year). WHO estimated a global expenditure of $ 330 billion in 2015, but it is going to increase sharply: $ 4 trillion in 2025 - including premature death, disability, and health care costs - just for CVD in LMICs. Temperature is a vital body parameter. It regulates all cellular functions so its management is essential for the good outcome of patients in several medical conditions such as cardiac arrest, stroke, traumatic brain injury, neuro and cardiac surgery, epilepsy, migraine and oncology. Regulating body temperature at a desired level makes all other treatments more effective. The most modern medical approach is the target temperature management, where physicians try to maintain the most favourable temperature for the patient for up to 24-36 hours, preventing excessive warming (fever) or cooling. Our device is a targeted temperature management system composed by a THERAPEUTIC COLLAR POWERED BY A SMART CONTROL UNIT (the size of a small briefcase). The collar transforms the neck into a natural heat exchanger exploiting several physiological and anatomical characteristics of the human body. It is quicker to act on brain tissue but can also function as total body temperature adjusting device if required. A disposable protective shield makes cleaning the collar after each use simple while featuring an optimal safety profile both in term of pathogens and allergens. The control unit collects all the data of the treatment and transmits them to the Emergency Response System. Our mission is to improve the safety of patients on the roadside, at home or in the workplace, and to reduce the costs of chronic care. In fact, Neuron Guard aims to be the only device that can be used in every circumstance, inside and outside the hospital, and allow the user to fully manage the temperature of the patient warming and cooling as necessary. Our vision is to have a Neuron Guard kit in every public place just like the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) to empower bystanders to immediately react in case of emergency. Under this perspective our device becomes a connected-intelligent platform that takes care of the patient, connects the scene with the Emergency Response System transmitting vital data to improve the readiness and effectiveness of professional intervention. The device is patented in Italy, USA and China. We have made several prototypes in collaboration with Italian and English companies, such as Tecno Elettra Impianti and TWI, tested it in laboratory and published the experimental results on the NeuroCritical Care Journal. We have also conducted a GAP Analysis with another English consulting firm (CDP) and we are testing the human prototype internally. We are seeking to raise 2.5M€ to complete the pre-industrialization, with design and construction of the human device for the pilot trial, finalized the regulatory clearance and launch it into the market in 2019.More