TU/e startup VivArt-X chasing innovative treatment of breast reconstructions
Thanks to €1.4 million from collaborating partners, the startup will accelerate its development of using autologous cells in breast reconstructions.
Over the next three years, Eindhoven-based startup VivArt-X will collaborate with the Smart BioMaterials Consortium (SBMC) and the TU/e Deparment of Biomedical Engineering on the accelerated development of a synthetic biomaterial to form healthy breast tissue after a breast surgery. VivArt-X's new personalized method aims to reduce the need for further operations, enhance recovery, and improve the quality of life following breast surgery for breast cancer. A total of €1.4 million has been allocated for the project.
The innovative treatment with smart biomaterials could have a significant impact on public health. One in seven women develops breast cancer, and more than half of them opt for breast reconstruction.
To make the technology available to patients more quickly, VivArt-X will collaborate over the next three years with both SBMC and the TU/e. Both partners will collaborate wih VivArt-X in different ways; TU/e will contribute its knowledge and facilities, while SBMC will be responsible for accelerating product development and quality assurance. The screening of the new material and the improvement of cell-material interactions will be carried out in the development laboratory of SBMC on the TU/e campus.
Fifty percent of the €1.4 million is contributed by the collaborating partners. 35 percent comes from the European subsidy program OPZuid, with the province of Noord-Brabant covering the remaining 15 percent.
