NeuroSigma, a Los Angeles-based medical device company, has been awarded a phase I NIH-STTR grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) for the further development of its Thin-Film Nitinol (TFN)-covered stent for the potential treatment of brain aneurysms. 

The phase I grant, totaling approximately $680,000 (two tranches), extends over a period of more than a year, with the second tranche of funding subject to the availability of funds and satisfactory progress made using the first tranche. The NINDS STTR program may provide up to an additional $3 million of follow-on phase II funding for additional clinical studies.

The major focus of the project is further development and pre-clinical testing of NeuroSigma's TFN-covered stent for the potential treatment of brain aneurysms. The TFN-covered stent technology was developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is exclusively licensed by UCLA to NSVascular, a majority-owned subsidiary of NeuroSigma. Nitinol is a superelastic nickel and titanium alloy with unique properties that allow deformation and subsequent full recovery of the original shape upon exposure to body heat. 

NSVascular will initially focus on developing and commercializing TFN-covered stents for endovascular applications, with its first two applications being flow-diverting stents for intracranial aneurysms and stents for treating peripheral artery disease.

Mayo Clinic is the sponsored research institution in this STTR grant.