DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS

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1 REF.: BIO_UAH_02 INDUSTRIAL SECTOR RESEARCHER DEPARTMENT CONTACT DETAILS WEB SITE Biotechnology Juan Manuel Bellón Caneiro Surgery juanm.bellon@uah.es Biomaterials and Tisular engineering DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS TITLE Double mesh prosthesis that corrects defects in the abdominal wall and prevents adhesion formation at the peritoneal interface ABSTRACT A research group from the Surgery Department of Alcala University has designed an implantable prosthesis made of two meshes joined together, for abdominal surgery uses. This prosthesis prevents the erosion of the viscera by promoting mesothelial deposition. Both meshes induce fibroblast proliferation and collagen deposition achieving the definitive repair of the defect at the expense of connective tissue. This research group is looking for manufacturing and license agreements.

2 DESCRIPTION AND SPECIAL FEATURES Abdominal wall hernias are one of the most common conditions requiring surgery. From the 80 s, the use of meshes was generalized to avoid the eventrations, to reduce the pain and the percentage of recurrences. In spite of these advantages, the meshes can produce visceral erosion and intestinal perforations. This research group has developed a new design of implantable prosthesis for abdominal surgery. The prosthesis proposed is formed of two meshes that may be of different porosity allowing that the integration tissue and vessels were able to infiltrate the mesh, making the prosthesis acts as a support or scaffold. The two meshes can have circular or rectangular shape and different sizes. They are joined together by a suture or heat seal, leaving a central zone of the prosthesis where the two meshes are in contact forming a shape similar to a "yo-yo". This will induce the formation of dense connective tissue. Around the joint area of the meshes, the two layers are free to overlap. It is the free lip of the upper smaller layer which is placed over the orifice or defect and then sutured to the recipient tissue. The other much larger mesh is threaded through the orifice to be repaired and placed inside it. This lower mesh does not need to be secured since it is pressed against the inside surface of the abdominal wall by the positive pressure of the abdominal cavity itself, and the viscera support the mesh acting as a containment wall. In this way the biomechanical resistance achieved is greater than that obtained using a simple implant secured to the defect's edges or slightly overlapping them. This design also eliminates any possibility of a button hole hernia formation due to the detachment of the mesh when it simply occludes the hernial orifice. Moreover, the lower larger mesh is coated with a layer of smooth material such as polyurethane, Teflon or a biodegradable or non-biodegradable polymer to act as a barrier against adhesions and erosion leading to intestinal fistulas. These last two components may be joined by an adhesive or preferably by moulding or heat sealing. The prostheses may be made of a single material, preferably one that is well tolerated, such as polypropylene or polyester, and also achieves good biomechanical resistance. This new prosthetic design has the added advantage that it is easy to position "over and under" the circular orifice of the hernia since, once the lower innermost mesh is in place, the outside mesh overlaps the edges of the orifice. Given the materials employed, its cost can be substantially lower than those presently on the market. INNOVATIVE ASPECTS The prosthesis is mainly suitable for repairing hernial defects in the abdominal wall but it is also useful for small recurrences of defects previously repaired with other biomaterials. The inner side of the mesh, in contact with the viscera does not produce erosion, avoiding the post-operation complications.

3 These new meshes stimulate and modulate the patient tissue proliferation achieving a complete recovery. Prosthesis design improves the biomechanical resistance and flexibility. TECHNOLOGY KEYWORDS Polypropylene, mesh repair, hernia repair, incisional hernia, composite prosthesis, abdominal wall repair, medical biomaterials, surgery SCIENTIFIC DOMAINS Information and Communication Technologies Industrial Manufacture, Material and Transport technologies Other Industrial Technologies Energy Physical and Exact Sciences Biological Sciences Agriculture and Marine Resources Agrofood Industry Measurements and standards Environment and risk prevention Socioeconomics CURRENT STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESEARCH RESULT Development phase Developed, available for demonstration Already on the market FUNDING RESEARCH European RTD project National project Regional project Private funding

4 COMMERCIAL ASPECTS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES Wide application in the surgical field. Due to the high incidence of abdominal wall hernias, this is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures. The prosthesis is manufactured with common biomaterial components. The manufacturing process is simple. High competitive technology on the market due to its low cost. CURRENT STATE OF INDUSTRIAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Patent applied Patent granted Software registered Exclusive rights Secret know how Copyright protected COMMENTS National patent number: P Granted on 21/12/2005. Applied world patent WO 2004/ TYPE OF COLLABORATION SOUGHT Technical cooperation Joint venture agreement Commercial agreement with technical assistance License agreement Manufacturing agreement COMMENTS The research group is looking for companies of the medical-surgical sector specialised on design, manufacturing and selling of surgical meshes. This technology is an innovating design of double mesh prosthesis for abdominal surgery. The manufacturing of this prosthesis requires economic

5 biomaterials. These biomaterials are frequently used in the meshes manufacturing. It does not require great changes in the installations, just a simple adjustment. The company would do the manufacturing as well as the commercialisation and selling. There are no preferences regarding the size of the company or its nationality. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (PICTURES) OTRI CONTACT DETAILS UNIVERSIDAD DE ALCALÁ-OFICINA DE TRANSFERENCIA DE RESULTADOS DE INVESTIGACIÓN (OTRI) Edificio Politécnico Campus Externo UAH Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) / otriuah@uah.es