POROUS is funded by the European Union and the state of Brandenburg.

POROUS projects are co-funded by the European Union.

POROUS is funded by the EU as part of the EIC Accelerator Program. The European Innovation Council (EIC) was founded by the European Commission in 2021. Its mission is to identify, develop and disseminate breakthrough technologies and innovations.

POROUS is funded by the Brandenburg Innovation Specialists program with funds from the European Union and the State of Brandenburg. The position of Digital Systems & Web Development Specialist provides key support for the digital transformation in the field of clinical trials and research data management. The focus is on developing innovative web technologies to optimize clinical processes, IT security, and the automation of data processing and analysis.

POROUS was funded by the ProFIT funding program of ProFIT of the State of Brandenburg (EFRE).

Osteoporosis: A global health challenge

Osteoporosis accounts for more days in the hospital than breast cancer, heart attack and diabetes. Fractures due to osteoporosis are associated with a substantial individual burden, including decreased quality of life, increased morbidity, and mortality, as well as high socioeconomic costs. In the US and Europe alone, fracture-related costs are estimated at approximately €120 billion per year. These numbers are expected to grow in aging societies, e.g. in the US alone, costs are projected to rise to $95 billion by 2040.

*source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8789736/

More than 200 million

persons affected worldwide

Every 3 seconds

a fracture occurs

Early detection is vital

Osteoporosis often goes undiagnosed until it’s too late. Current measurement methods cannot detect the onset of osteoporosis but rather approximate the bone-loss associated relative fracture risk, typically at advanced stages of the disease progression. Early detection is vital because the highest fracture incidence is not seen in people diagnosed to have osteoporosis but in those diagnosed to be healthy or osteopenic (losing bone mass), rendering osteoporosis one of the most underdiagnosed diseases in the western world. Early detection technology to overcome this clinical need was not available, until today.

Development of osteoporosis at the tibia

Healthy bone

Bone growth and resorption in balance

Disbalanced bone remodelling

pore size: ↗ ↗

trabecular network: ↘

cortical thickness: ↘

Compromised bone architecture

pore size: ↗

trabecular network: ↘

cortical thickness: ↘ ↘

Osteoporotic Fractures Affect Millions

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder characterized by reduced bone mass and deteriorated microstructure resulting in an increased risk of fractures. Fractures contribute to significant individual and socioeconomic burdens worldwide and result in significantly higher risk of morbidity and mortality, as well as patients’ quality of life. The prevalence is high: at least one in three women and one in six men over 50 years will experience at least one osteoporotic fracture in their lifetime. However, Osteoporosis is still one of the most underdiagnosed and undertreated diseases.

*source: Kanis et al. (2021); Siris et al. (2014); McClovsky et al. (2022)

Ultrasound at New Heights: 3D Microstructure Analysis of Cortical Bone

Today’s worldwide osteoporosis crisis demand a simple, precise, and radiation-free diagnostic method to close the existing gap to ease the load of the disease. Early detection is vital as it enables individual measures that can be taken for those in need to prevent fractures. Until now, no radiation-free technology has been available to assess bone properties at such a detailed level like POROUS.

POROUS provides a non-invasive non-radiation measurement for early bone health assessments to get a deep and thorough understanding of bone health. The unique POROUS solution uses 3D quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and can, for the first time, measure not only the cortical thickness, but also pore size, pore size distribution as well as viscoelasticity in peripheral human cortical bone.

POROUS is

Safe

Safe and robust ultrasound measurement with no X-ray radiation

Accurate

Accurate 3D ultrasound measurement of the cortical bone, down to the pore size distribution level

Cost-effective

Ultrasound has a high potential to offer a great balance between costs and benefits

The POROUS core team

Meet the entire team >

Julia Eschenbrenner

CEO

Jonas Massmann

Chief Technology Officer

Kay Raum

Chief Scientific Officer

Konstantin Hemmelrath

Chief Financial Officer

We are hiring!

To keep track with POROUS rapid growth and developments, we are looking to fill several positions with highly skilled and driven experts. Click on the vacancies below to read the full profiles.