funding solutions for people with spinal cord injury
dr. aaron phillips, a scientist at the university of calgary, leads groundbreaking research that improves people's lives after spinal cord injuries.
2 minute read
dr. aaron phillips and his team at the university of calgary developed an innovative new device that acts like a thermostat to regulate blood pressure; using implantable biotechnology, the device restores the innate system for blood pressure stability that is damaged after sci.
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spinal cord injury (sci) often leads to a secondary problem of irregular blood pressure. that pressure problem then leads to an elevated risk of heart disease and stroke. dr. aaron phillips has developed an innovative new technology that acts like a thermostat to regulate blood pressure.
the device that he and his team developed, which is currently being tested in clinical trials, uses implantable biotechnology that recapitulates the innate system for blood pressure stability that is damaged after sci.
dr. phillips has received substantial additional support to develop the technology, including being a team member for a $36 million grant from the u.s. military through the department of defense and defense advanced research projects agency (darpa) intended to advance his technology. he also holds seven patents for his work in this area.
dr. phillips, who was selected to receive brain canada’s 2021 turnbull-tator award for his paper entitled “neuroprosthetic baroreflex controls hemodynamics after spinal cord injury,” a paper published in nature, has also received many awards and recognitions, including new investigator awards from both the canadian association for neuroscience and the heart & stroke foundation, membership in the royal society of canada college of new scholars, and the prestigious science and pins prize in neuromodulation from the american association for the advancement of science.
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what’s the impact?
unstable blood pressure is a hidden consequence of spinal cord injury (sci) and can be life-threatening. although it affects fewer individuals, the cost of sci to the health care system is significant, approximately equal to that for alzheimer’s disease.
the technology that dr. phillips and his team developed to regulate blood pressure promises to reduce those costs while improving health and quality of life.
it is currently licensed to a publicly traded company, onward medical, which received a breakthrough designation from the food and drug administration (fda) in the u.s. to commercialize the technology as a therapy for sci and make it available to patients. the company is currently planning clinical trials with a collaborative team that spans canada, the u.s., and europe.
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