In the ANGIE project, we are developing a novel approach for treating strokes, by magnetically steering microrobots inside the brain to the stroke site.

Join our kick-start programme

Do you have innovative ideas for targeted drug delivery therapies for cardiovascular diseases, cancer or other medical conditions? We can help you develop them!

Read about our kick-start programme
8 February

Kick-start programme event

The hospital of the future – advances in healthcare robotics

About the event

Stroke treatment with microrobots

Strokes

The medical condition

Most strokes occur when a blood vessel in the brain is occluded due to a clot. This clot then prevents areas in the brain from being supplied with oxygen, resulting in the sudden death of brain tissue. Strokes are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and stroke cases are expected to rise in the coming years.

rtPA?

How strokes are treated today

The most common treatment of this kind of stroke consists of injecting a drug (called rtPA) into the blood which then acts to dissolve the clot. Unfortunately, while rtPA is effective for dissolving these clots, it has many side effects, including internal bleeding, swelling, and many more.

In stroke treatment, the doctor has to find a trade-off between administering a sufficient amount of rtPA to dissolve the clot in the brain, and reducing its dosage to avoid its side effects. These side effects also limit the time in which rtPA can be used to a few hours after the first symptoms. Thus, many strokes are not treated at all.

The ANGIE technology

In the ANGIE project, we are developing a novel approach for treating strokes. By magnetically steering microrobots to the clot, we can deliver rtPA directly to the stroke site. This approach allows us to deliver higher concentrations of rtPA directly to the clot, while reducing the overall amount of rtPA used by a factor of 10.000.

Potential benefits

The ANGIE technology will allow the blood clots to be dissolved more quickly, enlarges the treatment window and reduces the side effects of the treatment. We hope that this will increase the patients’ quality of life and reduce deaths and disabilities caused by strokes.

Learn more

ANGIE News

Robotics at
ETH Zürich

Welcome to ANGIE

Most strokes occur when a blood vessel in the brain is occluded due to a clot. This clot then prevents areas in the brain from being supplied with oxygen, resulting in the sudden death of brain tissue. Strokes are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and stroke cases are expected to rise in the coming years. 

The most common treatment of this kind of stroke involves consists of injecting a drug (called rtPA) into the blood which then acts to dissolve the clot. Unfortunately, while rtPA is effective for dissolving these clots, it has many side effects, including internal bleeding, swelling, and many more. 

In stroke treatment, the doctor has to find a trade-off between administering a sufficient amount of rtPA to dissolve the clot in the brain, and reducing its dosage to avoid its side effects. These side effects also limit the time in which rtPA can be used to a few hours after the first symptoms. Thus, many strokes are not treated at all.

 

 

In the ANGIE project, we are developing a novel approach for treatment of strokes. By magnetically steering microrobots to the clot, we can deliver the rtPA directly to the stroke site. This approach allows us to deliver higher concentrations of rtPA directly to the clot, while reducing the overall amount of rtPA used by a factor of 10.000.

The ANGIE technology will allow for blot clots to be opened faster, enlarge the treatment window and reduce the side effects of the treatment. We hope that this will increase the patients’ quality of life and reduce deaths and disabilities caused by strokes.

Learn More

ANGIE consortium partners across Europe

ANGIE is a project supported by the European Union

  • Programme

    H2020-EU.1.2.2. - FET Proactive

  • Topic

    FETPROACT-EIC-05-2019 - FET Proactive: emerging paradigms and communities

  • Call for proposal​

    H2020-EI-fETPROACT-2019

  • Funding Scheme

    RIA - Research and Innovation action

  • Grant agreement number

    952152 — ANGIE

logo-angie-white-transp

Magnetically steerable wireless nanodevices for the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents in any vascular region of the body.

Follow us on
Linkedin Twitter Youtube
EN-Funded by the EU-POS
Programme: H2020-EU.1.2.2. – FET Proactive | Call for Proposal: H2020-EI-fETPROACT-2019 | Funding Scheme: RIA – Research and Innovation action | Grant number 952152 — ANGIE
Terms of use | Privacy Policy
© 2023 Angie H2020