Together with Maastricht University, the initiators at Zuyd put together a detailed plan entitled LImburgMEet which was followed by a successful application for the Knowledge Axis (Kennis-As) subsidy program of the Province of Limburg. The plan is designed for long-term projects that have a positive effect on the health and (social) vitality of the population in Limburg. “The link to the Brightlands Campuses and daily practice was the deciding factor in the subsidy application,” Sandra Beurskens continues. “There is an enormous amount of knowledge and skills here; centers where researchers and companies work on innovations in materials and health, with support from the government. LIME’s most important spearhead is connecting. It’s about working together, co-creation. Innovation in the health care sector is only possible if you get the end users and all the other stakeholders involved. This is why we are building a community of entrepreneurs, professionals, clients, institutions, voluntary caregivers and citizens. In short, everyone who wants to help find ways to improve measurements in health care.”

SMEs have already figured out how to find the LIME Portal. Last year, Nico van Veen discussed his idea for very unique eyeglasses, the HemiGlass, with one of the coordinators. “Since having a major stroke, my wife’s eyesight was reduced by half,” he says. “She doesn’t see anything in her left visual field. It’s frustrating, and really hampers her independence and range of movement. At least ten percent of the people who have suffered a stroke are left with this disability. The condition is called hemianopia, and the basic message is that there’s nothing you can do about it. I did some experiments with special glasses with a built-in camera and screen, and this offers a lot of benefits. You could think of them as a sort of Google Glass. We could potentially help many thousands of people with these eyeglasses.”

Nico van Veen was the winner of the Dutch Health Hackathon at the MUMC+ in 2017. This win was followed by support from the Brightlands Innovation Factory, IDEE Maastricht and LIME. “Zuyd students helped come up with ideas for the technical possibilities and drew up a business plan. The MUMC+ eye clinic is also interested in further research. We are close to being able to produce a prototype,” the Heerlen resident says. “After that, the glasses will probably be able to go into production. Of course, what I’m interested in is finding a solution for my wife and other patients, but it would be great if this invention could be produced on a broad scale.” “Measuring is key to this project,” Sandra Beurskens adds. “It’s important to find out how the camera and screen need to be adjusted and mostly what kinds of social gains can be made. Ms. Van Veen has seen 80% gains in her vision with the HemiGlass. How amazing is that?”

(Source: Brightlands newsletter)