荔枝视频

One of the world鈥檚 leading spinal cord injury鈥� (SCI)鈥� researchers, based at the 荔枝视频, admits it鈥檚 been astounding to see a tiny notion grow to the verge of changing lives.

Inspired by the SCI community, who experience swings in blood pressure, 鈥� research focuses on tapping into the nervous system to solve cardiovascular health problems.

Two recent studies published in and demonstrated that a new neurostimulation system, a neuroprosthetic baroreflex device, successfully restored blood-pressure stability. Phillips, PhD, partnered with ONWARD Medical to develop an implantable neurostimulation system that now has FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approval for additional research.

鈥淭o go from the initial idea to a patent, to an extensive array of laboratory work, to working with the FDA planning the industry-sponsored trial that could see this device become a standard of care for spinal trauma 鈥� It's been the journey of a lifetime,鈥� says Phillips, an associate professor in the (CSM), neuroscientist and director of .

International collaboration leads to pivotal trial for SCI patients

The research was done in conjunction with neuroscientists and neurosurgeons from the Netherlands and Switzerland, including 脡cole Polytechnique F茅d茅rale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne University Hospital, and University of Lausanne. That work opens the door to a pivotal trial involving approximately 20 leading neurorehabilitation and neurosurgical research centres across Canada, Europe and the U.S.

鈥嬧�嬧�婽he research makes several important discoveries, says Phillips.

鈥淔irst, we show that low blood pressure after a spinal cord injury has serious medical consequences that should not be clinically ignored,鈥� he says.

鈥淪econd, we show that our neuromodulation therapy for blood pressure instability after SCI can be deployed effectively in diverse clinical settings 鈥� in different countries with different medical protocols.

鈥淭hird, we show that a custom implantable system targeting the specific areas of the spinal cord, that we discovered a few years ago are critical for stabilizing blood pressure, is optimized for effective management,鈥� says Phillips.

鈥淭his is extremely rewarding for me because it鈥檚 the penultimate step in an incredible journey to help people with spinal cord injury.鈥�

U荔枝视频 as an incubator for research that improves lives

鈥淎 big part of the commercialization journey is conceiving of new ideas that could have health or societally positive impact,鈥� says Phillips.

鈥淲hen you're in the university ecosystem, you can generate grants and get funding to then test your ideas and refine your concepts and bring them closer to clinical trials to improve lives,鈥� he says.

This includes strong community support for his work at the university. In 2023,  U荔枝视频鈥檚 annual $1-million Hopewell M.I.N.D. Prize, funded by local philanthropist Sanders Lee. It sparks innovation by supporting bold, cutting-edge research at the CSM鈥檚  (HBI). 

In research adjacent to the two recent studies, Phillips is currently testing a way to reduce damage and support neuro-recovery after spinal cord injury. The RESTORE Network itself, meantime, was launched thanks to a gift for spinal cord injury rehabilitation research from the estate of . 

Phillips says the trek from idea to implementation took about seven years, from initial success in the lab to the first human tests and partnering with clinical departments at U荔枝视频. Working with Innovate 荔枝视频, Phillips and his team formalized the intellectual property (IP) strategy, including managing initial patent filings and subsequent applications, which ultimately enabled the licensing of several co-invented patents to .

鈥淥ur success is the result of an incredible collaboration of experts spanning a wide variety of fields including science, medicine, and biomedical engineering,鈥� says Phillips.

ONWARD supported the clinical-grade manufacturing and safety testing of the implantable device. The technology is now licensed to ONWARD, where the hardware鈥�, the ,鈥� 鈥媔s being developed commercially.鈥�

鈥淲e have an amazing partnership with ONWARD and we鈥檝e built really strong collaborative connections with EPFL, which is the MIT of Europe,鈥� says Phillips. 鈥淲e've also trained a huge number of engineers, future physicians, neuroscientists (and) biologists on all these approaches and some of them are moving on to now expand into their own technologies.

鈥淭he health impact of this research is massive, but there is also huge economic impact with the people we have trained, and the company being a successful guiding light for neurostimulation companies working on solutions for underserved populations鈥�

Hope for those living with SCI

With the therapy proving robust and predictable under a variety of medical styles and approaches, Phillips hopes the next big moment for the neuroprosthetic baroreflex device is one of celebration for people living with SCI.

鈥淔or people with spinal cord injury, it鈥檚 been a really dark message for such a long time 鈥� 鈥� there鈥檚 nothing that can be done,鈥� says Phillips.

鈥淪oon, we won鈥檛 have to have that conversation anymore. This is a therapy for people with spinal cord injury, and it鈥檚 one of the first interventions to come to market, ever. That's where we're at in the journey.鈥�

Phillips holds 17 patents related to his research and is a shareholder of and consultant for ONWARD Medical.