Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurological disease causing muscle weakness over time. Its cause is unknown, which implies that no cure is available for the 1500 individuals diagnosed with ALS in the Netherlands. As their life expectancy is short, our goal is to maintain their quality of life at the highest level for as long as possible by establishing new research initiatives to generate assistive devices, which adapt according to disease progression. This can be achieved best by involving the ALS patients themselves and their caregivers to stimulate and discuss new research initiatives with all relevant stakeholders.

People with Parkinson’s disease have walking difficulties, often leading to severely reduced independence and quality-of-life. Current gait therapies have limited success at improving walking. This Veni project proposes an innovative new type of gait therapy, called gait entrainment, using a wearable robot (exoskeleton). The exoskeleton delivers small mechanical cues with fixed timing - the person subconsciously steps in time to the cue, reducing variation between steps and increasing walking speed. This research will develop the fundamental knowledge on how to use gait entrainment for maximum improvements in walking speed and step variability for Parkinson’s disease.

Flux Robotics is developing the Flux One system, a magnetic navigation technology designed to assist surgeons with passing calcified Chronic Total Occlusion (cCTO) lesions in peripheral arteries. Preliminary studies indicate a potential 47% increase in the efficiency of minimally-invasive guidewire navigation compared to the standard of care. The goal is to reduce the complications associated with traditional methods, especially in calcified lesions in the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries. This project seeks to validate these findings during preclinical trials with live animals and advance to commercialization.