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STIMBOY

STIMBOY
Your STIMulating BOt

Project objectives

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a tool used to non-invasively stimulate the brain, used in research and in the clinic (for example, in depression, chronic pain, stroke, dementia, etc.). The low spatial resolution of the technique, the rigid protocol that requires a lot of time and the continuous need for the presence of an expert have drastically limited its therapeutic diffusion. The objectives of the STIMBOY project are: 1) to improve the TMS robot developed in the context of the ERC project RESHAPE to realize a TMSdroid (STIMBOY) that satisfies the need for automation and extreme ease of use for non-expert clinical end-users in the use of TMS (clinical setup) and the need for precision and flexibility for scientists using TMS (research setup); 2) demonstrate the commercial viability of the technology (from the perspective of a cost-benefit analysis across health economics), 3) design a market path for the technology (including a market and competitor analysis), 4) strengthen the protection of the idea by enhancing its intellectual property, 5) study the regulatory path to follow to make the device marketable and 6) draw up a consolidated exploitation plan in a business plan. Research using TMS (>1100 TMS-related articles per year indexed by PubMed) and the size of the therapeutic market (€2,5 billion for drug-resistant depression alone) are not supported by the limited availability of commercial devices, over which STIMBOY will have several advantages: smaller size and weight, automatic neuronavigation implemented by the robot itself, larger workspace, possibility of performing double coil protocols, greater safety thanks to torque sensors incorporated in each joint and innovative features of the control algorithm, higher camera frequency and better performance/cost ratio. The project is carried out by the same multidisciplinary team that developed the TMS robot built within the ERC RESHAPE, with the help of a consultant. STIMBOY will make TMS therapy simpler and cheaper, thus making it accessible to a greater number of citizens and will promote neuroscientific knowledge and future therapeutic applications, benefiting society as a whole.

Start and end date

May 2021 - October 2022

Project Manager

Giovanni Di Pino - PI

Coordinating institution of the project

UCBM

Funding source(s).

European Research Council -Proof of Concept 2020

Link to the project website

STIMBOY
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