(Original source, UPF news, including a second PoC award at UPF. Read the full news here)

The TEAXON is based on the eAXON project, in which wireless injectable microstimulators have been developed to perform neuroprosthetics through neuromuscular stimulation with the ultimate aim of recovering motor functions in patients with paralysis.

The eAXON project has been funded with an ERC Consolidator Grant, and thanks to its good results, this same institution has selected it to carry out proofs of concept by means of the Proof of Concept (PoC) grant. In 2021 it received the first PoC with the Senso-sAxon project and it has now been granted a second proof of concept to carry out the TEAXON project, which aims to promote the business development of eAXON technology for therapies based on electrostimulation but not necessarily for purposes related to motor functions. 

“We hope that the TEAXON proof of concept will allow us to advance the level of technology development and analyse its commercial approach for different clinical uses”, Ivorra comments. Unlike other stimulation technologies suitable for clinical use, eAXON technology allows the development of much finer stimulators that can be implanted minimally invasively by injection. The project already has advanced prototypes, in the form of a wire, with a diameter of less than 1 mm, and consist of a silicone tubular body with two electrodes at opposite ends and a titanium capsule in the centre that houses the electronics hermetically. This degree of miniaturization is possible because eAXON technology avoids the need for bulky components within implants to power them (e.g., batteries or coils).

This proof of concept will allow them to increase the value of the technology by exploring new uses and new functionalities in the field of therapies based on electrical stimulation.