NWO honors three Take-off projects Radboudumc

Sander Leeuwenburgh, William Leenders and Klaas-Jan Kakebeeke have received a Take-off from NWO for their projects. Take-off projects are intended to enable feasibility studies and early-stage projects. Academic and innovative start-ups can use the feasibility studies to investigate whether their innovative ideas have commercial or societal applicability. Early-stage projects receive a cash loan to take their venture to market.

Feasibility study:
Injectable Bone gels for Regenerative Nanomedicine (INBORN): translating antibacterial gels for effective treatment of recurrent bone infections from bench to bedside - Sander Leeuwenburgh - Radboudumc
Artificial joints have provided a huge leap forward in orthopedics, but infected prostheses still pose a major health risk. These infections are usually treated with high doses of antibiotics, but in one in five patients these infections continue to recur, with adverse consequences. INBORN is developing a simple solution to this problem based on antibacterial gels consisting of therapeutic nanoparticles that resemble bone. These gels will outperform existing antibacterial biomaterials by delivering multiple antibacterial agents locally into cells for several weeks. Thus, even bacteria hiding in cells can be killed.

Early-stage route:
CervicaDx: cervical cancer prevention based on RNA-based diagnostics - William Leenders - Predica Diagnostics BV / Radboudumc
Predica Diagnostics is developing molecular diagnostics tests based on a platform technology that allows targeted RNA next generation sequencing to be performed (ciRNAseq).  Predica will further develop and market the ciRNAseq-based CervicaDx test. This test can be performed as a triage on HPV-positive cervical smears and thus indicates, with much higher specificity than currently possible with the PAP test, the risk that a woman has a cervical abnormality requiring gynecological treatment. The test analyzes up to 768 smears simultaneously and measures in each smear expression of hundreds of genes chosen based on their possible involvement in cervical cancer.

BeephoniX: a biomimetic microphone in hearing implants inspired by moving insect antennae - Klaas-Jan Kakebeeke - BeephoniX bv / Radboudumc
Many people struggle to make sense of a multitude of converging voices in a crowded room. The inability to filter background noise and tune into what someone is saying in a busy environment is known as the Cocktail Party Problem (CPP). Despite recent improvements in hearing aids, no adequate solution is currently available. BeephoniX has developed biomimetic microphone technology that mimics the way bees move their antennae to focus on sounds from specific directions. It can be integrated into hearing aids and improves speech understanding in noisy conditions.
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Source NWO

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