The team - made up of engineers Madalina Albu, prof. Ioan Lascar PhD, Dr. Dragos Zamfirescu, academician Maya Simionescu, doctor Ion ZEGREA, Dr. Marius Popescu and researchers Irina Domnica Titorencu and Georgeta Bumbeneci - was awarded for the Biocond nerve innovative regeneration technology allowing faster regeneration of peripheral nerve sutures.
The project, developed in partnership by the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila" of Bucharest, the National Institute for Research and Development of Textiles and Leather and the Institute of Biology and Cellular Pathology "Nicolae Simionescu", is of a great importance both from a medical standpoint, as well as from a commercial point of view, a press release sent out by the researchers team reads.
" We could use this method in 10 percent of nerve lesions. Actually it is a biological tube that will guide nerve regeneration. So far, we have had to harvest portions of nerve fragments, ie to sacrifice nerve to help important nerve regeneration ", said Professor Ioan Lascar, head of the of Surgery Clinic from Floreasca Emergency Hospital in Bucharest and member of the research team.
Doctor Dragos Zamfirescu said that nerve regeneration is the last frontier in microsurgery.
"There are situations in which the ends of a sectioned nerve cannot be sutured together. In this case, the therapeutic options are using a nerve graft harvested from elsewhere in the human body (with a corresponding sensitive impairment) or using a conductive tubular regeneration (tubes ). Our product has immediate applicability. We intend to use it in peripheral nerve microsurgery operations with prior consent of the patient. Nerve regeneration is practically the last frontier in microsurgery, for 30 years nothing has changed, they are performing the same procedures with the same results, " Zamfirescu said.
The Romanian invention has a high commercial value. There are two companies in the world producing the same technology, but with prices of 500 dollars for a tube of two inches. The Romanian product costs about 30 Euros, according to the source.