Oncoelectronics

The primary challenge addressed by Oncoelectronics is glioblastoma, a lethal form of brain cancer that kills more than 250,000 people each year. Despite aggressive treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the cancer almost always recurs because surgeons are unable to remove all cancer cells located at the tumor margins.

In addition, glioblastoma is considered “immunologically cold”, meaning that it is able to hide from the immune system. The blood–brain barrier also prevents most drugs and immune cells from reaching the remaining cancer cells after surgery.

Furthermore, the incidence of this cancer is increasing by approximately 9% per year, largely due to the aging population.

The disruptive idea behind the project is the development of the FloraVita device, a revolutionary technology that uses implantable, soft, and flexible bioelectronic electrodes to treat cancer. 

Key features include:

• Targeted Electrical Therapy: Flexible electrodes are placed into the tumor resection cavity during surgery to locally destroy cancer cells using controlled electrical stimulation.
• Dual Mechanism (Electroporation and Electrotaxis): The device uses pulsed electric fields to alter the cancer cell membrane. This mechanism is selective because cancer cells are more vulnerable to these electrical effects than healthy cells.
• Immune System Activation: By disrupting the cancer cell membrane, the device exposes the tumor to the immune system, effectively transforming a “cold” tumor into a “hot” one, allowing the body to recognize and attack it.
• Blood–Brain Barrier Disruption: The device can temporarily disrupt the blood–brain barrier, enabling chemotherapy drugs and immune cells to reach the cancer site more effectively.

The goal of Oncoelectronics is to significantly extend patient survival, potentially reaching more than 36 months, compared to the current average survival rate of around 15 months.

The technology also aims to improve patients’ quality of life by reducing the systemic burden of chemotherapy treatments.

The project aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly:

• SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

From an economic perspective, it could also help reduce global healthcare costs by introducing a more efficient treatment model based on Device-as-a-Service.
 

The project relies on several applications from the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to support different stages of development:

• SolidWorks: for medical device design and prototyping
• Simulia: for advanced simulations
• Enovia: for product lifecycle management (PLM)
• Medidata: for clinical development and clinical trial management

These tools help accelerate the development, validation, and regulatory processes of the medical device.
 

Oncoelectronics leverages collaborative and collective intelligence through several approaches:

• A multidisciplinary team: bringing together experts in neurotechnology, bioelectronics, oncology, engineering, artificial intelligence, and materials science.
• A scientific advisory board: including leading specialists such as Dr. Lluis Mir, a pioneer in electrochemotherapy, and Dr. DJ Cook, an expert in neurosurgery, along with Jean-Louis Divoux, an active implantable medical device engineer; Dr. Thiébaud Picart, neurosurgeon at CHU Lyon; Professor Fabien Almairac, neurosurgeon at CHU Nice; and Professor Denys Fontaine, neurosurgeon at CHU Nice.
• Institutional partnerships: with renowned institutions such as Institut Gustave Roussy, École des Mines, and Hôpital Marie Lannelongue.
• AI integration: artificial intelligence and advanced sensors (such as lactate sensors) are used to support precision cancer treatment, enabling smarter and data-driven electrical stimulation strategies.