Story: Safe and sound under the Micro-Cosmos
At Briskr, we believe in the power of a strong network. Nijmegen is a hub for health and high tech, which means we have lots of companies in the area that are at the forefront of groundbreaking inventions. Take Micro-Cosmos, a company that creates an environment free of stimuli, so that patients improve recovery in their own space. A great example of how an idea can be transformed into real-life solutions.
Eef Lamers is the co-founder of Micro-Cosmos, but he is fair enough to admit the idea did not come from him. “At a Health Hackathon organized by the Radboudumc, medical professionals and students came up with the idea. I knew those students, but they were too busy finishing their studies to turn the idea into action. I suggested I could try and make it happen, and that’s how it all got started.” At that moment, the product was no more than a drawing. The problem it had to solve was patients in hospitals suffering from the many stimuli in their surroundings. “As a result, patients develop a lack of sleep, which causes a slower recovery.”
We need a solution!
As Eef explained, the product was developed with a very clear goal in mind. “The Hackathon was organized to solve this problem: patients need peaceful surroundings to recover.” In addition to improved patient care, the advantages of a solution are obvious to hospitals as well. “Of all elderly in Intensive Care Units, 70 per cent develop delirium: a state of confusion and disorientation. Because of this, on average, people stay hospitalized 7 more days and recovery takes longer. If you take in mind that daily costs of hospitalization are 500 to 2.000 euros, the possible benefits are quite clear.”
In his efforts to create the best possible solution, Eef maintains close connections with medical professionals from various hospitals. “I don’t have a medical background myself – I studied physics – so I have gathered researchers, patients and nurses to give feedback about the Micro-Cosmos.” We are currently doing a pilot with Radboudumc. At the Intensive and Medium Care Units, and at Cardiology, we are looking into the effects of the Micro-Cosmos on quality of sleep, stress, fear and delirium. We use pilots like these to learn about the ideal circumstances to use the Micro-Cosmos.”
Growing step by step
As a young company, Micro-Cosmos could use some help when they started in 2020. One of the ways they found the help they needed, was through attending Briskr workshops. “We needed to know things like: how does an insurance company work? How do you launch a healthcare product? The workshops helped us find our way. Many doors opened because we could get in touch with people giving us information.” This way, Eef also found partners that helped the company develop. “We are in touch with HealthValley and OostNL. The latter helped us clarify what we didn’t know about investors. This eventually led to a successful application for an innovation loan.”
The company continues to take steps toward its final goal. “We want the Micro-Cosmos to be a standard option for patients all over Europe by 2030. To reach this goal, we have to keep proving that our solution works.” The pilots in the Netherlands helped them gather valuable data on the impact of the Micro-Cosmos, but potentially revolutionary research is about to start in Germany. “We just returned from Berlin, where a year-long pilot will provide the most important information we could possibly get. Two-thousand patients are part of the study, which will help us convince other hospitals of the value of the Micro-Cosmos.”
