Prolira

Every hospital wants to avoid complications, as they hamper patient recovery and add costs. Most complications are easily detected and controlled by monitoring vital signs and using medical diagnostics. However, one of the most common complications is not under control.

Delirium is a complication, with reported incidences up to 50% in hospitalised elderly. It is an acute state of mental confusion caused by underlying physical problems. Patients often suffer from horrific hallucinations and patient outcome is significantly lowered. Increased length of hospital stay and possible long term cognitive impairment (dementia) make delirium weigh heavily on healthcare budgets.

Early detection of delirium is clinically important as an earlier start of treatment improves patient outcome. Our market research shows that early detection of delirium is difficult in routine clinical settings. With today’s assessment means, delirium is not timely detected in 50-70% of the cases. Early detection of delirium is an unmet clinical need.

Prolira provides the first proprietary and validated biomarker-based medical device to detect the onset of delirium, with a sensitivity of 90%. This enables health care professionals in realising better patient outcome, saving hospital days and reducing costs.

The market size is determined by the number of patients at risk of delirium. These patients are easily identified and need to be monitored several times per day. Every measurement requires the use of a disposable electrode patch from Prolira. The disposable market value for hospitals (Intensive Care Units and surgical wards) in Europe and the US is € 1.4 billion per year.

Prolira’s team combines the right clinical, technical and market expertise. An exclusive license has been obtained on the necessary IP-rights and clinical data. UMC Utrecht has completed a proof of principle study and has started a technical validation study together with Charité from Berlin and two Dutch hospitals.