Integrum and collaboration partners receive SEK 3.2 million in research grant for textile-based HOPE project
Mölndal, Sweden, June 1, 2023 – Integrum (publ) (Nasdaq First North Growth Market: INTEG B) today announced that the Knowledge Foundation (Stiftelsen för Kunskap och Kompetensutveckling) has granted SEK 3.2 million to the textile-based research project HOPE, where Integrum collaborates with the University of Borås, Bola AB and Daralabs AB. Integrum’s aim in this project is to further develop and expand the company’s Neuromotos system business.
Project HOPE evaluates how a smart textile-based rehabilitation concept can improve adherence to home-based rehabilitation and improve users’ neuromuscular status. The project is run within an interdisciplinary cooperation and calls for continuous collaboration among the project partners. The contributions are complementary, and each partner will have a clearly defined role in the project.
In a previous project, with Neuromotus™, a study was conducted using a smart textile solution for home-based Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) treatment. In the HOPE project, Integrum AB, together with the University of Borås will further develop PLP treatment at home. Integrum is also interested in investigating the possibilities of expanding its business by introducing the NeuromotusTM system into other application areas, such as muscle training for e-OPRA surgery. Integrum will also lead the work on gamification which is used to improve user engagement and motivation in home-based rehabilitation.
“We are proud to take part in this interesting project which may benefit patients with neuromuscular rehabilitation needs and to work together with the project partners in developing user-friendly smart textiles. It is also a possibility to expand our Neuromotus™ system business,“ says Rickard Brånemark, CEO of Integrum.
Research at the University of Borås will be mainly conducted in the Swedish School of Textiles. Smart textiles in healthcare and welfare are one of the university’s main areas of research and the textile-electrode system is a precise and easy-to-use system that allows for a personalized and self-administered rehabilitation program, improving the quality of rehabilitation and minimizes the time and complexity of training procedures. Bola AB has experience in knitting since 1939, and its up-to-date seamless knitting machines are the best testbed for prototyping. To date, Bola has focused on adding ‘functionality’, i.e., to make smart textile prototypes work. In the proposed project, Bola will go one step forward to investigate how to productize the prototype and how existing manufactory facility/competence can be adapted to the production of new products on a mass-production scale. Daralabs AB:s E-health platform is designed to match all user preferences while being easy to use. Combining biofeedback and this platform enables precise rehabilitation. Daralabs will work on the user interface design for a personalized rehabilitation program (both software and hardware) and will also lead the soft-to-hard connectors development.