Bringing electromagnetic imaging research to patient’s bedside
Title of the research project
EMERALD - ElectroMagnetic imaging for a novel genERation of medicAL Devices
Abstract
EMERALD (“ElectroMagnetic imaging for a novel genERation of medicAL Devices”) is the coherent action of leading European engineering groups involved in electromagnetic (EM) technology for medical imaging to train a cohort of highly-skilled researchers capable of accelerating the translation of this technology “from research bench to patient bedside”.
Description of the research project
Nowadays, medical imaging technologies play a key role to face the ever-growing number of challenges due to aging populations, as they are the essential clinical tool to deliver accurate initial diagnosis and monitor the evolution of disease over time. For this reason, a whole range of new imaging modalities is currently being developed to supplement and support current modalities. Among these technologies, there is EM imaging, which involves the illumination of the portion of the body under investigation with low-power non-ionizing EM waves (in the microwave spectrum) and the use of the resultant backscattered signals to generate images of the internal structures of the body.
The scientific objective pursued by the EMERALD action is to accelerate translation of research in EM medical imaging into clinical prototypes. To this end, EMERALD will establish a group of 13 outstanding early stage researchers who will be the European leaders in this field, through a unique scientific and training programme. The EMERALD trained researchers will drive the future developments of EM imaging technology, thanks to the targeted skills, they will attain, and their established connections with clinicians and stakeholders.
The EMERALD consortium involves academic institutions, industrial partners, hospitals and university medical centers (as partner organizations). The success of EMERALD will ensure that all achieved innovative technological developments will be translated into benefits to the end user community and potentially taken to market, with an impact on both the European society and scientific community.
Impact on researcher’s career and on society
The EMERALD project will train world-class researchers who will be the future leaders in EM- based medical device development in Europe. The EMERALD training is based on the knowledge triangle between research, innovation and education, so to prepare the fellows for suitable career developments. Through close collaboration with industry partners and clinicians, these researchers will help to make Europe the most competitive knowledge-based environment to develop novel EM-based imaging devices. In the context of a worrying skills-shortage in the field, European industries, the European economy, and society in general, will benefit greatly from this unique group of highly trained experts.
Working group @Polito
Francesca Vipiana, associate professor, Pproject coordinator
Mario Casu, associate professor
Jorge Tobon, postdoc researcher
Gianluca Dassano, Technician
List of beneficiary organizations
National Research Council of Italy - IREA, Italy
National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
FCIENCIAS.ID Associacao para a Investigacao e Desenvolvimento de Ciencias, Portugal
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
Technical University in Ilmenau, Germany
Keysight Technologies Austria., Austria
King's College London, United Kingdom
WIPL-D, Serbia
Mitos Medical Technologies, Turkey
List of partner organizations
Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
University of Belgrade, Serbia
Neurent Medical, Ireland
Institute of Telecommunications, Portugal
Medical Wireless Sensing Ltd, United Kingdom
University of Rome Sapienza, Italy
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energies and Sustainable Economic Development, Italy
Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria
European School of Antennas
University Hospital Bern, Swizerland
Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Israel
University of Trento, Italy
Lariboisière University Hospital, Paris 7 University, France
Luz Saúde, S.A., Sociedade Aberta Hospital da Luz, Portugal
Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
Sorbonne Université, France
EMERALD project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 764479
Web site- Budget: 3.300.160 euro
- Start date: 1/05/2018
- End date: 30/04/2022