AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, DECEMBER 12, 2017 – A group of leading European universities, research organization, and industrial SME entities met this week in Amsterdam to kick-off a Euro 2,1m research project named Mariana to develop tracking, navigation, and catheter technology for accurate, more effective and less expensive management of early stage lung cancer. This three-year project is partially funded by the EU Commission’s Eurostars-2 programme, in which the project was ranked as #1 of a total of 363 eligible Eurostars applications.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world, both for women and men. Delayed investigation and treatment is an important cause, as patients in early stages have few symptoms. Most patients who are nvestigated for suspected lung cancer are older, mostly smokers, with comorbid conditions. “The overall goal of the Mariana project is to reduce the number of investigations for each patient, increase the accuracy, reduce the x-ray burden and improve the workflow of lung cancer diagnostics”, says Dr. Håkon O Leira at St. Olavs hospital in Trondheim. The aim is to develop a system which significantly improves navigation with capabilities to reach deep seated locations combining state of the art tracking, image guiding techniques, and steerable tool design.

The Mariana consortium is comprised of Ceetron AS (Trondheim, Norway), SINTEF (Trondheim, Norway), University College Cork (Ireland), Smart Electronics Ltd (Shannon, Ireland), DEAM BV (Groningen, Netherlands), and Delft University of Technology (Netherlands). Clinical and preclinical investigations will be conducted at: St. Olavs hospital (Trondheim, Norway).

For further information about the project, please contact:

NORWAY:
Dr. Tor Helge Hansen
CEO Ceetron AS
tor.hansen@ceetron.com
+47 920 27 699

The NETHERLANDS
Wimold Peters
CEO DEAM BV
+31(0)20-7173810

IRELAND
Shane Adams
CEO Smart Electronics Ltd
shane.adams@smartelectronics.ie
+353 61 771120