As Parkinson’s syndrome progresses, it becomes increasingly challenging to dose medication that can slow down the progression of symptoms. Stardots in Uppsala is developing a digital health platform that makes symptoms measurable. This, in turn, forms the basis for optimal treatment tailored to the patient’s condition.
– Two and a half years ago, I was alone in my kitchen. Now, there are 13 of us planning a launch in the USA. It wouldn’t have been possible without the support I have received from UIC, says the company’s founder and CEO, Daniel Petrini.
Daniel is fundamentally a chemist. When he started Stardots in 2016, the company offered a general application for data analysis in research and development. A meeting with Alexander Medvedev, a professor of control engineering at Uppsala University, led to a change in direction for the company. Today, they specialize in addressing specific challenges in neurological diseases, primarily Parkinson’s.
“An established treatment for Parkinson’s disease involves electrodes implanted in the deep brain of patients, providing electrical stimulation (DBS, Deep Brain Stimulation). You could say it’s like a pacemaker for the brain,” explains Daniel. Alexander’s vision was to optimize the signals to achieve the maximum effect with minimal side effects. The starting point, of course, is knowing the patient’s condition. It turned out that I could help him.
The most common treatment for Parkinson’s patients is levodopa. Dosage is also challenging here. If the patient receives too little, the tremors continue. Too high a dose results in excessive movement, causing involuntary movements.
Daniel and Stardots’ significant contribution to the treatment of Parkinson’s patients is objective methods that can measure symptoms, which are currently lacking. Treatment has been based on how the patient “feels” and the doctor’s estimation of the extent of symptoms, making optimization difficult. To provide clear metrics on patients’ conditions, Stardots has developed two measurement methods.
“One of the methods is to measure the patient’s eye movements, which become more jerky when affected by Parkinson’s. We have developed a method where patients follow a moving dot on a screen while we measure eye movements using eye-tracking,” says Daniel.
The second method is done through an app developed by Stardots. The patient holds the mobile phone and performs a series of well-designed movements. The app measures the degree of tremors.
“The significant work related to both methods is that we have created algorithms that interpret the measurement results. This provides an objective measure of patients’ disease states that can be translated into the correct dosage of levodopa and electrical stimulation.”
Daniel connected with UIC early on. Daniel participated in the business development program UIC Build as early as 2018, followed by the UIC Accelerator for a few years.
He believes that the company wouldn’t exist today without the support he and Stardots received. It was largely thanks to UIC’s network that a major financier entered the company and secured the development work required before Stardots could generate revenue. Joining Swedish Scaleups felt like a natural step.
“We get help with what we need most,” says Daniel. For example, the project has ensured that we have received a professional valuation of the company. And we receive ongoing help in structuring our operations.
Stardots primarily aims at the American market. This requires approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which involves extensive efforts. The company will also eventually develop similar solutions for other neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, and autism – the latter has already started.
“I was born and raised in Uppsala, and it’s great that there is such a vibrant community around life science here. I believe a lot in combining new digital technology with innovations in health. It’s something we excel at in both Uppsala and in other parts of Sweden and can be exported. Most of healthcare will be digitized.”
Swedish Scaleups is a collaborative project for innovative companies in Mälardalen run by four incubators: Inkubera in Örebro, Linköping Science Park, Create in Västerås, and UIC in Uppsala. Swedish Scaleups helps create growth for innovative companies with competence development, capital acquisition, internationalization, and everything else needed to take the company to the next level.
Contact:
Lars Dahlbom, Business Developer UIC
Swedish Scaleups
lars.dahlbom@uic.se
070-529 40 21
Helena Kristersson, Program Manager
UIC Accelerator
helena.kristersson@uic.se
070-300 27 11
Daniel Petrini, CEO & Founder
Stardots
daniel.petrini@stardots.se