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Joakim Håkansson
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Swedish invention revolutionising treatment of bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers globally and affects more than half a million people every year. Treatment is both complicated and costly and requires that the patient remains in hospital for days after an operation. The Swedish company Multi4 wants to change this. With their proprietary multi-tool, the procedure can be done much faster, and the patient can go home the same day.
An operation to treat bladder cancer, transurethral resection, is a complicated procedure in many ways. A rigid metal tube is inserted through the urethra and burns away the cancer bit by bit. The waiting list for patients is usually long, and once the procedure can be performed, general anaesthesia or neuraxial anaesthesia is required. In many parts of the world, the patient is hospitalised for several days after the operation. The procedure is also costly, and the recurrence rate is high, which means the operation frequently needs to be repeated.
Unfortunately, many people can testify to the difficulties. Bladder cancer is the sixth most common form of cancer globally; in the US, 315,000 operations are performed every year, and in the five largest EU countries alone (including the UK), 360,000 people undergo the procedure annually. With a new technology being developed by a Swedish urologist and surgeon in her own company, Multi4, it is hoped the procedure will be simpler, less painful, and safer.
– “What we are developing now is a multi-tool so that a single instrument can be used to treat superficial bladder cancer,” says Miden Melle-Hannah, who hopes that the new procedure can be performed in Swedish hospitals within a few years. “The tool should only need to be inserted once, after which the procedure is carried out using automated and electrified technology. The urologist presses a button and the cancer is removed bit by bit, then transported out through the instrument itself into a special container. It will be a completely new way to perform a cancer procedure quickly and easily with a single instrument.”
Partners with RISE
The path from idea to clinical use is understandably neither easy nor fast. Many different studies must be carried out before human trials are possible. The hope is that as many problems as possible can be detected along the way and averted.
– “Multi4 contacted us at RISE first because they knew we could help with functional evaluation,” says Joakim Håkansson, who is an associate professor of biomedicine and works as a researcher and project manager at RISE. “This is often the case; someone knows or has heard that RISE knows part of the process and they get in touch with us. But following our initial contact, we realised we could become closer partners throughout the work from prototype to product on the market.”
– “I got in touch with RISE through our initial contact with Sahlgrenska,” says Melle-Hannah. “Before that, I didn’t know all that much about RISE, but I’m very pleased with the collaboration. At RISE, I met a competent team. The regulations for putting a new medical device on the market are very extensive, with many requirements. Therefore, it’s been great to have RISE as a partner.”
The regulations for putting a new medical device on the market are very extensive, with many requirements. Therefore, it’s been great to have RISE as a partner.
Research funding important for the process
The collaboration applied for and was granted research funding from Vinnova and Eurostar, which obviously helps in the process.
– “We have a clear division of work between Multi4, Sahlgrenska and RISE in how we drive the processes forward, and it’s important to engage in close dialogue so that any bottlenecks and challenges arising along the way can be overcome quickly and efficiently,” says Håkansson.
Faster procedure
There is evidently huge potential for improvements to current healthcare. Today, the procedure necessitates the involvement of many healthcare professionals during the operation, which is usually several hours long. The new instrument will enable the procedure to be carried out in around half an hour by a single urologist who can perform all the steps. Patients can be given a local anaesthetic and go home the same day.
– “We clearly see that our instrument could have many other uses,” says Melle-Hannah. “The vacuum technology we use to quickly take multiple tissue samples for diagnostics could be used for other cancers. For such a development, I believe the collaboration with RISE and Sahlgrenska can last.”
– “I know that many in the industry are not aware that RISE can take overall responsibility as a partner in medical technology development,” says Yalda Bogestål. “This is particularly important today when the regulations for the field are more extensive, and many companies need to do new tests and biological evaluation. At RISE, we hope to be able to help more Swedish companies, especially smaller and growing companies that may not have regulatory expertise, a contact network, or their own labs and test facilities.”
