SVAN builds smart drills with patented auto-stop technology for high-risk bone drilling.
Collaborating Institutions
Intraosseous access (IO) delivers emergency drugs straight into the bloodstream through bone, in less than a minute, when a vein cannot be found.
It works across every age group, from preterm neonates to adults, and in critically injured patients it succeeds roughly twice as often as an IV line.
Yet it stays underused due to gaps in age- and weight-specific equipment, in training, in clinicians' confidence to reach for it.
Moreover, no powered drill on the market today covers the full patient range- from preterm neonates as small as 500 g to large adults. And it's the smallest patients who can least afford a millimetre too far: nearly half of first attempts fail in preterm neonates and infants, and a drill that travels just a millimetre too deep can cause extravasation, fracture, necrosis, and serious complications*.
*Ortner, M., Kaider, A., Heinze, G., Odar, T., Unger, E., & Oberoi, G. C. (2026). First attempt success rate of intraosseous access in preterm infants and neonates: a systematic review. Resuscitation plus, 29, 101334. Link
SVAN is developing an auto-stop technology intended to detect the transition into the medullary cavity and automatically stop drilling. This technology is designed to reduce the risk of over-penetration. The platform is being explored for additional bone drilling applications where depth control is important.