Bengt Bern, MSc; Göran Dellgren, MD PhD; Kristján Jónsson, MD; Giovanni Maltese, MD PhD; Per Klockar, MSc; Stefan Winström, MSc
Competition Sponsor: EIT Health of the European Union
Award Year: 2021
Patients die waiting in line for a heart transplant. Donor hearts are limited and there are only 6000 heart transplants made every year in the world today. The need is 50 times higher and growing. Artificial hearts or mechanically circulatory supports are becoming the solution to this problem, but the treatment has an Achilles heel: the driveline/a power cable percutaneously (percutaneously=penetrating through the skin) powering the artificial heart. This driveline is severely prone to infections. Invivopower has solved this infection problem that has haunted and challenged the industry for more than 25 years. Invivopower´s has developed a transcutaneous energy implant link that transfers energy, up to 40 Watts, wirelessly through the skin. The technology opens a new era for high power, class three, active medical implants. First in line for this solution are artificial hearts and ventricular assist devices but the list of active implants to follow can be made long like retina implants, high power prothesis, internal pumps etc. Our team has vast experience in developing, producing, and selling energy links for active medical implants. Our energy link is based on earlier clinical experience, scientific data regarding skin heating to avoid necrosis, and scientific bench models performing as in real humans.