updated September 2, 2010

Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital is just the third children’s hospital in the United States and the first in the Eastern region of the country to acquire a new, minimally invasive neurosurgical medical device -– developed with the assistance of students and project managers at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Rose-Hulman Ventures -- that makes pediatric brain and spine tumor removal faster and easier. The NICO Myriad™ has been used in removing brain tumors in children as young as eight months and can be used in removing many of the most common malignant and non-cancerous pediatric brain and central nervous system tumors.
 

Revolutionary Technology: A Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology student examines a version of the NICO Corporation’s Myriad tumor removal tool that was developed with assistance from interns and project managers from Rose-Hulman Ventures.

The Myriad represents the most significant advance in minimally invasive neurosurgery in the past decade,” said Mark Dias, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, in press release issued by Penn State. “In particular, its use in endoscopic neurosurgery will substantively move the field forward, allowing neurosurgeons much greater flexibility than ever before.”

 
There are nearly 7,000 newly diagnosed childhood brain and spine tumors annually in the United States. Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital performs approximately 600 pediatric neuroscience-related procedures every year. Using the Myriad device is expected to provide notable reductions in surgical procedure times –- sometimes cutting operating room time in half. It is the first automated and non-heat producing tumor removal device to operate in open and endoscopic surgical approaches, giving surgeons like those at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital the ability to treat a wider spectrum of disease conditions and remove tumors from hard-to-reach areas of the brain and spine.

 
For the parents of 11-year-old Nathaniel Murphy, the device meant their son wouldn’t have to endure an open-skull surgical procedure to remove a benign, but growing tumor deep in his brain. Doctors diagnosed Nathaniel, at age 3, with neurofibromatosis, a disease that makes people more susceptible to developing tumors in the nervous system. Two years ago, a benign tumor started growing, pressing on nerves that caused headaches, nausea, and vision problems. When symptoms got worse three weeks ago, Nathaniel’s parents brought him to the Children’s Hospital for surgery and said they were elated to learn about the Myriad, which offered a less invasive procedure for their son. Instead of an eight- or nine-inch incision to accommodate multiple tools and removal of part of Nathaniel’s skull, the pediatric neurosurgery team was able to use a small, one-inch hole to insert the Myriad device and access the tumor more easily.
 

Long-Term Project: 2010 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology alumnus Nathan Hazard tests the Myriad device developed by Rose-Hulman Ventures for NICO Corporation. Hazard was one of four students involved in the project from the original concept to finished product.

“Any time your child has to have brain surgery, it’s a big deal, so we were nervous,” stated Nathaniel’s father Rodney Murphy in the press release. “But to me, it was exciting to know there was this kind of tool to limit the intrusion into his brain, to let them get in and do what they needed to do, and get back out.”

 
As developed through the assistance of Rose-Hulman biomedical and mechanical engineering students, under the guidance of Rose-Hulman Ventures Project Manager Brian Dougherty, the Myriad device can be used in a number of pediatric neurosurgical cases, including the most common benign or non-cancerous and localized tumors as well as the more aggressive, highly malignant or cancerous primary brain tumors. The device’s slender design and malleable tip allows for superior control and precise surgical work that is delivered by the physician through a foot pedal operation. The tool makes it easy for physicians to move from delicate tissue shaving near or on critical structures, such as optic nerves and carotid arteries, to rapid tissue removal of large, more fibrous tumors without multiple insertions of different devices.

 
Especially important for pediatric surgeries is the device’s small diameter and long tip length, which make it particularly useful in the removal of masses deep in the brain, either through traditional open craniotomy or by the less invasive endoscopic technique. “It would have been extraordinarily difficult to reach Nathaniel’s tumor any other way,” said Dias in the press release. The device is compatible with any standard endoscope and can be manipulated down the working channel for the safe removal of tumors.

 
“We believe the device is a market enabler, meaning that it will enable significant advances in the minimally invasive neurosurgical market that can lead to better patient care and better outcomes,” said Jim Pearson, NICO Corporation’s president and Chief Executive Officer, in the Penn State press release. “We expect the Myriad will help revolutionize the pediatric and adult neuro and spine tumor removal market as we know it today. Penn State Hershey can be considered among the leaders of this revolution, and they will help take pediatric neurosurgery to the next level of advanced technology in tumor removal that is better for the young patients they care for.”

 
Brain tumors are the second most common malignancy among children younger than 20 years old.

 
The Myriad system was purchased with support from the Four Diamonds Fund, an organization that saw the benefit of this technology to the patients it serves -- children fighting cancer at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. The system uses technology developed over 20 years and is used in several surgical specialties, including brain and spine tissue removal.

 
Rose-Hulman Ventures’ staff and students played a vital role in Myriad’s development, creating and testing a prototype and preparing for pre-production and production capacity—all while balancing an entrepreneur's two biggest business concerns: time and money. Joe Mark, NICO’s co-founder and vice president of technology, credits Rose-Hulman project managers for having the ingenuity and tenacity to overcome challenges that could have slowed the process of Myriad's development.

 
"Our relationship with Rose-Hulman has been a very, very positive experience," stated Mark in a NICO press release. "As long as NICO continues to identify new ideas for unmet needs in the market, we'll continue to work with them now and in the future."

 
For more information about NICO Corporation or the NICO Myriad system, visit www.niconeuro.com. Find out more about Rose-Hulman Ventures at www.rhventures.org.