PROJECT TEAM
Jonas Amstrup Funder, Experimental and clinical testing, research design, documentation consultant, assoc. professor, PhD Lillebaelt Hospital
Mogens Hinge, Materials, manufactoring. Founder: RadiSurf, Investor: Decameal, LittleOtter Loudspeakers, Engineer, assoc. professor, PhD Dept. of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Aarhus Universitet
Thomas Strøm, Clinical testing (ICU), Consultant, professor, PhD, Odense University Hospital
Lasse Hartmann Schmidt, Experimental and clinical testing (ICU). MD, PhD student, Soenderjylland Hospital
Hugo Bertelsen, Regulatory requirements, approvals, standards CEO, MedicQA
THE NEED
Delayed bowel function after abdominal surgery prolongs hospitalization, increases discomfort, and raises the risk of complications such as wound healing delays, infections, and thrombosis, while also increasing healthcare costs.
THE SOLUTION
EndoPace accelerates bowel recovery, reduces symptoms, shortens hospital stays, and lowers the risk of post-surgical complications, improving outcomes for both patients and healthcare systems.
EndoPace – University Hospital of Southern Denmark
Call 8 – 2025
GRANT: 500,000 DKK
Clinical Area
Postoperative Bowel Dysfunction (BDF) / GI Motility, Abdominal Surgery, Critical Care / ICU
Technology
GI Electrical Stimulation / Pacing, Naso-Gastric Medical Device, Bioelectronic Medicine
PROJECT SUMMARY
Postoperative bowel dysfunction after abdominal surgery can prolong hospital stays, cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain with the patient, and increase the risk of complications. EndoPace is a new pacing tube that stimulates bowel activity through electrical impulses – without the need for additional surgery – helping critically ill patients recover faster after surgery.
The project is developed by a multidisciplinary team: Jonas Amstrup Funder, consultant and clinical lecturer, Mogens Hinge, professor at the Department of Materials and Production, and Tobias Juhlin, a graduate student from the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering at AU.
CLINICAL IMPACT
EndoPace accelerates recovery after abdominal surgery by restoring bowel function 1.5–4 days earlier than standard care. By combining gastric decompression with targeted electrical stimulation, it reduces nausea, vomiting, pain, and the need for surgical electrode placement. Faster bowel recovery lowers the risk of wound complications, infections, thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and mortality, improving outcomes and shortening hospital stays.