Advitos, a Munich-based company supported by the EIT Digital Accelerator, offers a highly technological solution for treating multiple organ failure, which is currently being tested in Intensive Care Units, next to ventilators, to support the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Advitos's patented medical devices can support the simultaneous dialysis of three organs (i.e. kidneys, liver & lung) and adjust for blood pH balance. This device is currently being tested to support patients suffering from COVID-19 in a hospital in Munich, Germany, and is showing positive results so far.
As Dr. Berhnard Kreymann, the creator of Advitos's technology and a nephrologist himself, explains: "Many people dying from COVID-19 have a certain age, and suffer from the Multiple Organ Failure (MOF) syndrome. In simple terms, the kidneys, the heart, the liver and the lungs of these patients are not functioning correctly, as they are infected by the coronavirus, which is adding a severe pathology on top of these pre-existing conditions. To cure these patients, it makes sense to involve a device capable of handling all these organs simultaneously for better results."
The Advitos' medical device ADVOS (ADVanced Organ Support) has already been used in 20 hospitals in Germany over the last 2 years, and has saved hundreds of patients. Previous studies, not involving COVID-19 patients, have demonstrated that this technology is sharply improving the survival rate of patients, from a very low 10% for severely sick people to up to 50%.
The fact that the patients' organs are treated through a single procedure has visible medical benefits and simplifies the tasks and complexity of the treatments for physicians and nurses. Yet, to further simplify the usage of this device, the company is currently adding the most advanced AI-powered digital technologies to the control systems of the machine.
As many as 500,000 people are dying each year from MOF in Europe and North America. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, these statistics are likely to become even worse. "Thousands of patients suffering from COVID-19 would need to be treated with an ADVOS device," Bernhard says.
The outcome of the current clinical studies involving patients with COVID-19 is promising. However, it will still take a few weeks to get the final results, and another couple of months before they can be published in medical journals. In the meanwhile, other innovative digital technologies are being developed to be prepared for future viral outbreaks.
Advitos joined the EIT Digital Accelerator at the end of 2019 with the objective to scale its business in Europe and grow on a global scale. "EIT Digital recognises the immense potential of Advitos' technology and is proud to support a company that can drastically improve the survival rate of people suffering from multiple organ failures," says Daniel Michel, Head of Access to Finance at EIT Digital Accelerator.
