Lifetec

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An extensive network of companies in Brainport is active in ‘lifetec', the collective term for ‘medical technology and life sciences’. Among the world’s leading developers and manufacturers are Frencken, Sioux and Philips Medical Systems, the inventor and manufacturer of products such as the MRI scanner. The Eindhoven University of Technology invests much research capacity in biomedical and medical technology. This multidisciplinary research is conducted in collaboration with industry and medical institutions in the region.

An interesting spin-off of the Eindhoven University of Technology is 'heart valves factory' QTIS/e. QTIS/e uses the patient’s own living cells to produce a new heart valve. Because this so-called ‘one valve for life’ heart valve replacement grows along with the (young) patient, only one operation is necessary. The heart valves are cultured in a bioreactor and through mechanical stimuli ‘trained’ to form strong tissue.

Another example of a recent Brainport innovation is the ‘iPill’ for the treatment of Crohn's disease or other forms of chronic intestinal inflammation. Philips Research has developed a probe in the form of a pill that just has to be swallowed to treat the disease on the spot. The smart pill works in the patient’s body like a mini-doctor. The iPill is approximately 1 x 2.5 centimetres large and consists of a drug reservoir, a microprocessor (controlling a fluid pump), a battery, a PH sensor to measure PH values and a temperature sensor. By means of a radio chip, the pill reports data (such as body temperature) to a computer, which then provides the iPill with additional instructions.