Category: Medical technology
Surgeons have few ways to monitor the condition of a patient after a debilitating spinal cord injury. A research lab at Johns Hopkins University is hoping to change that by developing an implant that can give physicians a look at the inner workings of the body in order to reduce the need for surgery or alert them when something has gone wrong.
The HEPIUS Innovation Lab ultrasound imaging implant continuously monitors blood flow around the site of a spinal cord injury for several weeks after surgery. Lab co-founder Amir Manbachi hopes to start human testing in two or three years. The lab earned a Food and Drug Administration Breakthrough Device Designation in late January putting it on the fast track to approval through more direct work with FDA regulators.
The name of the lab, HEPIUS, stands for Holistic Electrical, Ultrasonic, and Physiological Interventions Unburdening Those with Spinal Cord Injury, and is a reference to the Greek god of healing. HEPIUS is funded by a five-year, $13.48 million award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The 60-person team includes staff at Columbia University in New York, one subcontractor, west coast company Sonic Concepts and Hopkins Applied Physics lab staff, among other locations.
Eventually, Manbachi wants to develop a long-term monitoring tool that can remain in the body for over a month. The HEPIUS device could eventually turn into a direct healing tool by using ultrasound to stimulate blood flow inside the body.
Once the company builds up a large amount of data from patients, machine learning could lead to smarter treatments by showing how blood flow impacts healing after an injury.
