In the case of serious soft tissue injuries, tissue transplantation is sometimes unavoidable. For the patient, however, this means a serious intervention. In the future, the missing tissue could grow directly in the patient's body – in isolation chambers that can be implanted under the skin and individually adapted to the wound geometry. The 3D-printed chambers developed by the research team from the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP and for Laser Technology ILT as well as the BG Klinik Ludwigshafen were presented at the MEDICA medical technology trade fair in Düsseldorf this week.

If structures such as bones, vessels or tendons are exposed in the patient, tissue transplantation with perfused tissue is often the only option. For the patient, this is associated with an operation lasting several hours and with injury to the body's own healthy tissue. Scientists are therefore developing tissue-conserving methods for generating perfused tissue grafts to replace skin and other tissue in a targeted manner. For example, collagen-lined isolation chambers made of Teflon could be sewn under the skin and an artery or vein could be looped into them. Through cell migration and ingrowth of vessels, the collagen is finally transformed into transplantable tissue within two to four weeks. This is a minor procedure for which local anesthesia is sufficient. In contrast to tissue grown in a petri dish, the tissue created in the chamber is fully vascularized - i.e., interspersed with capillaries - and thus supplied with blood. This means that a lively connective tissue is created that adopts the shape of the isolation chamber and is suitable for transplantation without having to sacrifice healthy donor tissue. Another advantage: since the tissue is produced by the patient's body, rejection reactions are avoided.

Customizable tissue engineering
Researchers at the Fraunhofer IAP are currently evaluating and optimizing this technique in the BMBF-funded FlexLoop project (grant number 03VP05962) - together with the Fraunhofer ILT and the BG Klinik Ludwigshafen - Clinic for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Heidelberg University. "Whereas previously only round isolation chambers were used for tissue engineering, for the first time we can adapt the shape of the isolation chambers to the shape of the patient's soft tissue defect, thus further advancing the personalization and individualization of medicine," says Dr. Wolfdietrich Meyer, project manager at Fraunhofer IAP. This is enabled by 3D printing, which is intended to replace the previous milling of the chambers. Since the conventional chamber material Teflon cannot be printed, the experts at Fraunhofer ILT are relying on photo resins for this purpose. "3D printing not only offers the advantage of being able to specify the shape of the tissue, we have also developed chamber designs that make tissue cultivation as comfortable as possible for patients and allow easy handling during surgery," explains Andreas Hoffmann, project manager at Fraunhofer ILT.

The researchers at the Fraunhofer IAP are testing both the material itself and the differently shaped isolation chambers. Finally, the isolation chamber must not release any degradation products into the patient's body or lead to rejection reactions, so it must be biocompatible. How durable is the material in the human organism? Does it change, for example, when it is brought to body temperature? The initial results look promising. As far as the entire isolation chambers are concerned, the mechanical properties are the main focus. This is because the chambers are sutured to the surrounding tissue or implanted under the skin at a site close to the defect: Here, for example, no cracks may form in the chamber for safe application.

The physicians at BG Klinik Ludwigshafen, in turn, are investigating whether the regrowing tissue can also completely fill complexly shaped isolation chambers. "Our main aim is to show that we can grow shapable tissue in the 3D-printed chambers, which in turn - like a kind of puzzle piece - can completely close a complex soft tissue defect. In addition, the biomechanical quality of the tissue grown is closely examined," explains Dr. med. Florian Falkner, assistant physician for plastic and reconstructive surgery at BG Klinik Ludwigshafen. However, it will take a few more years of development before this form of tissue cultivation is ready for clinical application as a routine procedure.

mHUB, one of the nation’s leading independent hardtech and manufacturing innovation centers, has selected the startup teams that will participate in the premier cohort of its 6-month, hands-on accelerator for high-potential medical device businesses. Teams will move from across the country to participate in the program at mHUB’s state-of-the-art facilities in Chicago. The program is set to commence in November 2021.

Supported by Baxter and Edward-Elmhurst Health Venture Capital, the program’s industry partners will engage with the startups over the course of the program, providing mentorship and guidance for strategic connections within industry and clinical access. Community partner MATTER will provide additional programming and industry access, and Cooley LLP will provide legal programming, resources and office hours.

The selected cohort features early-stage ventures focused on commercializing disruptive medical device solutions such as: a needle-free platform to deliver biologics; wearables for reducing tremors, detecting, and treating vestibular disruptions, and capturing wellness markers in elderly patients; as well as monitoring solutions for fetal care, cancer patients, diagnosing sepsis, and tracking IV drug delivery through sensors.

“Chicago is a great place for entrepreneurs, and mHUB has built an incredible community around supporting startups that are manufacturing products, including medical devices,” says Lyle Berkowitz, MD, a Chicagoland physician, entrepreneur, and investor. “As a program mentor, I’m excited to welcome to the city a group of hardtech focused healthcare startups that will help revolutionize how we diagnose and manage patients across the world.”

The selected startups are the result of a rigorous selection process that included an advisory committee of healthcare industry experts, venture capitalists, manufacturers, and serial entrepreneurs. The startups were selected based on their ability to address large, unmet needs with innovative solutions that will transform patient care.
In alphabetical order, cohort teams include:

• Bionode (Indianapolis, Indiana) developing smart contact lens system that rapidly reduces intra-ocular pressure in patients with glaucoma
• Equibands (Chicago, Illinois): developing Minimize, a lightweight, non-invasive, and discreet bracelet designed to counteract hand tremors – restoring independence for over 120 million people worldwide
• HIVE (St. Louis, Missouri): developing CloudConnect, a smart IV line that monitors when patients take (and forget to take) IV medication, continuously sending data to clinicians to empower them to act quickly and prevent expensive re-admissions
• Neursantys (Calgary, Alberta, CA): developing NEURVESTA, a wearable which detects neurophysiological impairments disrupting balance and gait and delivers personalized neurostimulation to treat vestibular disruptions caused by aging, head impacts, and other medical conditions
• NovaXS (Berkeley, CA): developing Telosis, a needle-free medicine delivery platform delivering biologics into the lymphatic system for applications such as gene therapy, oncology, muscular degenerative disease, and endocrinology while improving treatment compliance
• NXgenPort (St Paul, Minnesota): developing NXgenPort (NGP), a device that maximizes remote care in cancer patients by combining proven chemo-port efficacy with microchip and sensor technology to monitor and report physiological measurements in vivo
• Ping (Chicago, Illinois): developing wearables that capture the wellness information of seniors to drive up engagement between aging populations and their family caregivers
• ProMedix (Portland, OR): developing HydraSense to provide a rapid, accurate, and noninvasive assessment at the clinical bedside or remote care setting to help diagnose sepsis and monitor patient decline and response to treatment
• Walela (Mundelein, Illinois): developing sensor technology that measures fetal heart rate and blood pH to improve fetal and maternal outcomes and reduce unnecessary c-sections

“When the mHUB accelerator program was launched, MedTech was an obvious vertical for mHUB to support,” says Melissa Lederer, mHUB chief experience officer. “The development of medical devices is a complex process. mHUB is positioned to help accelerate the product development of hardware while supporting the teams with the resources, guidance and healthcare industry access they need to navigate the commercialization path to market.”

The MedTech cohort is the second cohort of mHUB’s Accelerated Incubation program launched in 2020. The program was founded to address the specific barriers of bringing a hardtech solution to market. Mainly, the ability to rapidly prototype and scale and connect with investors who realize the upside of disruptive hardware solutions.

The mHUB accelerator provides access to capital through a $15M Product Impact Fund, nearly closed, with follow-on investment opportunities from the program’s corporate partners as well as access to over $6M of capital-intensive prototyping equipment and business resources. It matches seasoned mentors to each startup, focuses on business and leadership training and offers access to a broad manufacturing ecosystem. Being situated in Chicago, one of the nation’s largest manufacturing regions, mHUB has built a supplier network of over 500+ U.S. manufacturers and growing.

“Advances in technology are revolutionizing digital health and personalized medicine,” says Cathy Skinner, CEO, NXgenPort. “The mHUB accelerator program provides tremendous value to a medical device company like NXgenPort that uses microchip and sensor technology to enable remote monitoring of cancer patients. As an entrepreneur with over a decade of startup experience, accessing a prototyping lab as well as investment, on top of mentorship from healthcare leaders in Chicago, is a unique opportunity.”

“The healthcare industry is primed for disruption, partially due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and partially the speed at which smart technologies are transforming industries,” says Heather Walsh, executive director, MedTech Cohort, mHUB Accelerator Program. “Demand-driven, novel medical device technologies are being developed in response to the identification of new pain points in healthcare and an understanding of how the current technology can meet those challenges. I’m thrilled to work with this group of startups who are bringing novel approaches to solving large, unmet needs.

HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, is bringing technology, digital innovation, and new jobs to the Northeast with the opening of its Global Delivery Center in Hartford. The new center serves its flagship client -- Stanley Black & Decker -- and will expand to support clients across industries including manufacturing, aerospace and defense, insurance, life sciences and health care.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Hartford Mayor Luke A. Bronin, HCL CEO C Vijayakumar, Stanley Black & Decker CEO James M. Loree and other dignitaries attended the Nov. 12 inauguration ceremony for the Center at 10 State House Square in Hartford.

HCL plans to create 500 new jobs in Connecticut in the next 24 to 36 months. Positions will include leading-edge technology roles in IoT, augmented reality, aerospace engineering, infrastructure, digital workplace, IT applications and operations technologies. HCL is also partnering with local community colleges and universities to create new opportunities for college graduates and to help fast-track careers for budding technology professionals.

First announced in February 2020, the Hartford Center will feature a Smart Manufacturing Lab showcasing state-of-the-art technologies from HCL and its ecosystem. It will ultimately serve as a primary hub for HCL clients in the region and nationwide. The Smart Manufacturing Lab is one of multiple centers HCL is opening across the United States as part of its expansion plans. HCL today has more than 22,000 U.S. employees.

“We are honored that HCL chose Connecticut to expand its presence in the U.S.,” Lamont says. “The Hartford Center will bring new opportunities to our community and connect our talented workforce and future graduates with job opportunities in some of the fastest-growing industries.”

“HCL is helping Stanley Black & Decker effectively manage and deliver the business technologies and services needed to thrive in a digital age,” Loree says. “We’re pleased to officially welcome HCL to Connecticut and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with the new center in our home state.”

“We’ve been committed to the Northeast with a strong presence in the tri-state area, and I’m thrilled to expand into Connecticut,” Vijayakumar says. “Our Hartford Center provides people the opportunity to work across a range of industries, leveraging cutting-edge technologies, and we are committed to becoming an employer of choice in the region.”

2021 is a year of celebration for Sensofar, who has been in business for 20 years. Sensofar’s beginning was enhanced by the passionate and entrepreneurial spirit of its founders, when they wanted to leverage their knowledge about the science of light, to create disruptive technologies that would demonstrate to the market the need for and benefits of optical metrology. Their passion for science became the core of the business.

“The last 20 years have given us plenty of reasons to celebrate," says Roger Artigas, president of Sensofar Metrology. “Our industry has progressed over the past 20 years in all areas out of the academy fields. Sensofar has played a large role in the defining key moments of optical metrology, and we are proud of our achievements. Optical metrology has become one of the most important phases in quality processes, and our profilometers are the most versatile equipment to measure and inspect surfaces especially with a growing demand due to the miniaturization of the whole market. There are still many challenges ahead, but our future is bright.”

This year the company celebrates its outstanding and remarkable past, but also looks forward to the opportunities the future brings. For this reason, the company renewed its brand while renewing the commitment made to customers, employees, metrology, and surface inspection, under a new tagline and brand image.

Marc Andrés, brand manager at Sensofar comments; “It is important that Sensofar retains its established values and scientific heritage, but at the same time the branding needed developing to reflect the growth and maturity of the company. We feel it’s important to let people know what Sensofar stands for and our new tagline Lighting Up Your Quality signifies our commitment to metrology and reflects how the company improve the quality processes of our users.”