Commitment to enhancing the independence of people with neurological disorders has been a major driver for EIC Transition beneficiary, ONWARD Medical, in its decade-long preclinical and clinical research conducted at leading hospitals and neuroscience laboratories. With its investigational ARC-EX System named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024, Netherlands-headquartered company is poised to be the first to market with a brain-computer interface (BCI) system that can restore thought-controlled movement of patients with paralysis.
The grants from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the European Innovation Council (through the project ReverseParalysis) have enabled ONWARD Medical to advance its studies in an effort to make its technology available to those who need it. To do so, ONWARD Medical has recently acquired an exclusive licence from CEA for the development and commercialisation of the WIMAGINE Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology to treat spinal cord injuries.
ONWARD ARC Therapy: transformative technology for regaining movement through the power of the mind
A spinal cord injury (SCI) affects the communication between the brain and the spinal cord, interrupting the brain-derived commands that generate walking. Building on previously developed brain-spine interface (BSI) prototypes, the EIC-funded ReverseParalysis project – coordinated by the Dutch company ONWARD Medical – aims to develop two fully implantable BSIs that will restore lower- and upper-limb movement, with the potential to transform the lives of people affected by spinal cord injury.
Against the backdrop an existing lack of approved therapies for spinal cord injury resulting in heavy costs for people affected and their families, ONWARD Medical’s team of scientists, engineers and physicians has developed the Investigational ARC-BCI System to restore thought-driven movement and function of the human body.
The opportunity for first-time commercialisation of a BCI-enabled system
The company has signed an exclusive license with CEA to develop and commercialise the investigational WIMAGINE BCI designed by Clinatec as part of its investigational ARC-BCI System to restore thought-driven movement and function of the human body.
ONWARD Medical CEO Dave Marver said:
Securing exclusive rights to the WIMAGINE BCI gives us an opportunity to be first to market with a BCI-enabled system to restore thought-driven movement after paralysis (...). Clinatec is a world-renowned biomedical research institute and its BCI is ideal for our applications. We can now develop a truly integrated system that is well suited for the type of study required to gain regulatory approval and bring a BCI-enabled system to market.
Instead, regarding the recent inclusion of its ARC-EX System among TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024, he reported:
We are grateful for TIME’s recognition of the ARC-EX System, which has the potential to impact hundreds of thousands of people with spinal cord injury and impaired hand and arm function (...). SCI is a devastating injury that can change lives in an instant. We are hopeful ARC-EX Therapy is just the first of many innovative therapies ONWARD Medical can introduce for the benefit of the Spinal Cord Injury Community.
TIME's annual list features 200 extraordinary innovations changing lives. The selection process involved nominations from TIME editors and correspondents around the world, with special attention paid to growing fields including healthcare, AI, and green energy. Each contender was evaluated based on key factors including originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact.
Additional information
The EIC Transition project ReverseParalysis aims to develop two fully implantable brain−spine interfaces (BSIs) that will restore lower- and upper-limb movement after SCI. The project capitalises on the previously developed BSI prototypes that link the intended movements decoded from motor cortex activity to electrical stimulations of the spinal cord.
For more information on the ReverseParalysis project and its transformative impact on sustainable dairy protein production, please visit the dedicated page on CORDIS.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.