THRIVE: a Development Project to produce a pre-production prototype of a new system to assist in the treatment of osteoporosis by the stimulation of muscle pumps to augment bone blood supply

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The body has muscle pumps in addition to the heart that are vital in the healthy flow of bloodaround the body. These pumps are located in the major muscles of the legs and regular use ofthese muscles is essential for a healthy body. Sky Medical Technology with Queen MaryHospital has researched and developed a novel electro-mechanical stimulation technology thatactivates these muscle pumps when it is not possible for the body to do so voluntarily. Thisincreases blood flow in the body and has been shown to have a clinical effect on theprevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). There are also indications from early work thatuse of this technology has a therapeutic effect on conditions such as urinary and faecalincontinence.We propose to continue the work conducted in an NWDA funded Grant for Research andDevelopment project (see Appendix A) that investigated the feasibility of using a novel Thisproject demonstrated that the OnPulse technology has the ability to improve blood perfusionin the bone marrow thus preventing the onset of osteoporosis. This was shown to beparticularly true in the case that the subject was a victim of spinal cord injury (SCI). SCIvictims are almost certain to suffer the onset of osteoporosis brought on by theirimmobilisation. This causes the victim additional suffering through the significantlyincreased likelihood of serious and potentially fatal fractures to their wrists, vertebrae andhips.This project will deliver and optimised, pre-production prototype of nerve stimulationequipment researched and proven in the previous Grant for R&D project. This project willalso produce new IP based on the original core technology (developed to prevent DVT). Thisdevelopment programme will enable Sky Medical Technology to rapidly develop a highlyinnovative and disruptive technology and offer a second IP offering to its investors.