A biodegradable graft for knee stability and nerve regeneration
The Neurons are crowned winners of Smart Biomaterials Hackathon 2025
Published on February 24, 2025
The Neurons - Smart Biomaterials Hackathon
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The Smart Biomaterials Hackathon 2025 has crowned The Neurons this year’s winners for their groundbreaking solution to knee ligament injuries. Their solution, "Restore the Sense," introduces a smart, biodegradable graft that restores knee stability and promotes nerve regeneration.
The Neurons, a multidisciplinary team consisting of Ricky Thijssen (Fontys Hogescholen), Miguel Grande (Imperial College London), Tom van den Boogart (Veritas Services), Álex Pascual (University of Oxford), and Lucía Mas (Maastricht University), impressed the jury with their innovative approach to treating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
Key features of the technology include:
- Firm yet flexible structure: Supports the knee while the body gradually replaces the graft.
- Targeted medicine carriers: Deliver nutrients that aid nerve recovery and sensory feedback.
- Smart pulses: Provide gentle electrical stimulation to accelerate healing.
This innovation aims to reduce re-injury risk, shorten recovery time, and lower healthcare costs, especially benefiting young athletes.
"The Neurons stood out among the finalists," says jury chair Carmen van Vlisteren (Topsector Life Sciences). "We were impressed by this innovative combination, where the team developed the technology and presented a clear action plan along with the necessary financing. We advise using the voucher funding for a proof of concept of a partial solution, thereby reducing risk and advancing the innovation step by step."
Alongside Van Vlisteren, the jury included Mercedes Tuin (Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij), Jan Rietsema (Smart BioMaterials Consortium), Aldo Boon (Practivision), and Rob Janssen (Orthopedic Knee Surgeon).
As winners, The Neurons received a €10,000 grant to further develop and validate their concept in SBMC’s development lab.
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Runners-up
In addition to The Neurons' success, the jury recognized two impressive runner-up projects. Eyedrocure presented a fibrotic detection and antifibrotic hydrogel solution to tackle fibrosis-related complications in glaucoma patients. Their innovation features a shunt with a hydrogel endplate that gradually releases antifibrotic medication. This approach improves patient outcomes, reduces follow-up time, and lowers healthcare costs. SuperGelOs introduced a gelatin-based glue for hard-to-heal bone fractures like scaphoid wrist breaks. This fast-setting, biodegradable glue strengthens bone repair while optionally delivering antibiotics to prevent infection.
The Smart Biomaterials Hackathon is an annual innovation challenge where multidisciplinary teams tackle healthcare challenges using advanced biomaterials. The event fosters collaboration between students, researchers, and entrepreneurs, paving the way for next-generation medical solutions.