HeroSupport obtains CHF 150’000 to improve breast cancer treatments

Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for breast cancer, which affects 1 out of 8 women. However, radiation has several side effects (such as skin burns), which is very stressful for patients but also a burden for hospitals. Prone treatment, with the patient lying face downwards, reduces skin burns by 35%, lung cancer deaths by 70%, and cardiac death risks because the breast naturally detaches from the thorax in prone. Setting up the patient in a prone position to the required precision in every treatment session (5 to 35) is very difficult, and therefore prone is not used as often as it should. This is where Geneva-based startup HeroSupport comes in.

The startup transforms imaging and treatment tables into personalised support so that patients do not have to adjust to the table, but the table uniquely adapts to each patient. Its first device VENUS SHELL, is a custom immobilisation device for prone breast radiotherapy. The device is created by 3D scanning the patient’s breast on the EYE-table and 3D printing a personalised shell. This MRI-compatible breast shell attaches to the hospital’s treatment boards for precise, comfortable, and quick positioning during treatment, allowing for improved cancer treatment effectiveness, safety, and cost efficiency.

HeroSupport aims to deliver its positioning system to large radiotherapy centres in the EU, US, and Australia, thus responding to the growing demand: in 2020, there were 2.26 million new breast cancer cases worldwide, of which 50% went through radiotherapy services by more than 7000 centres.

The startup will invest the Venture Kick CHF 150,000 to set up their 3D printing lab and complete certification to work with their first customers. It is also currently raising its first financing round to accelerate international expansion.

HeroSupport was founded by Giovanna Dipasquale (CEO) and Johan Uiterwijk (CTO) as a spin-off of Geneva University Hospital, where Giovanna Dipasquale works as a medical physicist, and where the device was tested in a clinical trial.

Giovanna Dipasquale said about Venture Kick: “It’s been a privilege to go through the Venture Kick competition and receive real investor feedback, which is invaluable. Furthermore, it has pushed us to focus on the market rather than solely concentrating on the product, which can be a common pitfall for founders fresh out of university institutions. A significant step forward, a real kick!”

(Press release/RAN)