At the Academic Medical Centre Arthur Kievit has developed a method for diagnosing prosthetic loosening of Total Knee Replacements (TKR) in a direct manner. The orthopaedic surgeon in training designed a device that enables the application of a constant force to the knee while recording a CT-scan. With the use of dedicated software the condition of the bone-prosthesis interface can subsequently be evaluated. Kievit’s method improves the diagnosis of TKR loosening which is currently costly, time consuming and has a risk of a false positive result. He realised that this also implied a business opportunity, which he explored during AMC’s Graduate Course ‘Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences’. His case stood out and yielded him participation at a training day of IXA Pontes Medical, where he won a development award.
He now hopes to demonstrate the clinical relevance in a study in seven hospitals, funded by a valorisation grant from NGI/ZonMW, the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development. With the establishment of his spin-off firm Comforthod, Kievit hopes to pursue other projects as well: “I like to bridging the gap between clinic and business”, he says. ‘Providing a solution for everyday clinical problems is satisfying in itself, but turning it into business means you’re really giving it relevance.”
Biobanks contain valuable information on the donor of the sample. Access to these collections can be crucial for companies developing novel diagnostics or therapeutics.
These are exciting times for Dave Koolbergen, congenital cardiac surgeon at AMC. With his company Haermonics he hopes to bring a new technology to market for postoperative pericardial flushing. It was developed upon his observation that after heart surgery often the removal of accumulated blood and clots can be achieved by flushing the pericardial space […]
How to make an impact with your research and what does it take to go from idea to product or service. Watch the video of Maaike van Rest. Maaike explains what has helped her to bring an idea to the market in the shape of a product.