Date: 2014-07-17
Type of information: Grant
Company: Bone Therapeutics (Belgium) Image Analysis (UK) SIRRIS (Belgium)
Investors: M-ERA.net
Amount: €576,000
Funding type: grant
Planned used: The grant will support the two year-long study, CERACELL. This study aims to assess the feasibility of developing 3-D patient-tailored bioresorbable bone tissue engineered products for the reconstruction of bone defects. In a highly innovative approach, the study will use Bone Therapeutics’ fully differentiated bone-forming (osteoblastic) cells that will add osteogenic capacity on top of the osteoconductive capacity of the 3-D scaffold. The scaffold will be tailored to the patient need, designed to replace the missing bone part as accurately as possible, matching mechanical properties to the host bone tissue. This enhanced tissue engineering approach is expected to produce a favourable environment for bone regeneration and could be utilised in conditions such as large bone defects (e.g., reconstruction of bone metastasis resection). CT-scan images of bone defects will be analyzed by Image Analysis, using 3-D reconstruction algorithms. A contour approach based upon an atlas shape of normal bone will be used to accurately determine the set of image voxels that constitute the missing volume of bone, giving a 3-D bit-map of the shape to be printed which will be converted to the required formats for the printer. The Belgian research center SIRRIS will be responsible for the additive manufacturing process of the 3-D pieces. Cell adhesion, survival, proliferation and colonization will be determined by Bone Therapeutics on printed scaffolds, and the cell’s biomechanical properties will be tested.
Others: * On July 17, 2014, Bone Therapeutics, a regenerative therapy company addressing unmet medical needs in the field of bone diseases and orthopaedics, announced it will lead an expert consortium which has been awarded an M-ERA.net grant totalling €576,000. The two year-long study, CERACELL will also involved the UK Company Image Analysis and the Belgian research center SIRRIS.
Therapeutic area: Bone diseases - Regenerative medicine
