NeuroPair’s patented treatment approach magnetically generates a shape-conforming scaffold in situ – directly within the injury site – for the regeneration of neurons that were damaged due to a spinal cord injury (SCI). Injured neurons need to be given the opportunity to regenerate, get protection from scar formation, penetrate already-formed scar tissue, and be guided in the right direction to be able to reconnect and preserve and restore lost function.
Spinal cord injury includes very different types of injury patterns that typically require different surgical approaches for damage control, stabilization and possible treatment. Compared to emergencies such as heart attacks or strokes with established treatments, SCI is more complex and requires multimodality therapeutic approaches. Optimally, there is spinal cord decompression surgery within 24 hours of injury to give the patient a chance of at least partial recovery.
To the surgeon, the nature of the injury (concussion, crush, transection, partial, complete, spinal position, dorsal, ventral etc.) and the shape and condition of the injury site in both acute and chronic SCI present very differently for each case – “Every injury is different”. A recovery that exceeds any one that is expected spontaneously requires new axonal growth and circuit formation. For that to happen, a favorable biophysical environment is needed, one that is compatible with other treatment options that the surgeon considers best given the individual situation and prognosis of the patient. Chances for functional recovery increase greatly if such an environment can be established rapidly after an injury has occurred, which is what NeuroPair’s technology can provide. NeuroPair’s first focus is on a treatment for subacute injuries, when a patient has been stabilized and chances for any functional recovery without treatment are considered low, but while the injury site is still susceptible to being remodeled and the functional reconnection of severed neurons is still possible under the right conditions.