The overarching objective of 3BAtwin is for FC.ID+CIÊNCIAS to gain excellence capacity in all sub-fields related to MMWI research and become a national and international reference in the field, which will be possible by further establishing a solid collaboration with project partners: University of Galway (GALWAY) in Ireland, and Politecnico di Torino (POLITO) in Italy.
Objectives
The main objectives within 3BAtwin are:
- To leverage education and train researchers in FC.ID+CIÊNCIAS, who will enhance their fine knowledge of technical and scientific topics and achieve excellence in their MMWI research.
- To strengthen collaborations with top R&I organisations. The researchers will cooperate on multiple dedicated training activities, workshops, scientific meetings, as well as several dissemination activities, additionally they will also organise joint convened sessions at the most relevant conferences in their research area.
- To establish an association dedicated to fostering international cooperation among MMWI researchers which will be key in advancing the technology and facilitating the widespread adoption of MMWI technology as a diagnosis tool in healthcare. An integral activity of this association, led by the researchers in 3BAtwin, is the organisation of an annual international conference.
- To capacitate FC.ID+CIENCIAS’ researchers and staff both in the specific research area of MMWI and in transversal skills regarding the translation of technology from the laboratory bench to innovative medical devices and clinical trials.
- To significantly advance the MMWI devices to meet the consortium’s needs, namely for bone osteoporosis and bone cancer diagnosis (by GALWAY), brain stroke detection (by POLITO) and breast and axillary region diagnosis (by FC.ID). This exploratory research project will strengthen the commitment and engagement of the twinning partners.
Institutions
Coordinator: FCiências.ID (FC.ID), Portugal
Affiliated Entity: Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa (CIÊNCIAS-ULisboa), Portugal
Beneficiaries: University of Galway (GALWAY), Ireland and Politecnico di Torino (POLITO), Italy
FC.ID/CIÊNCIAS-ULISBOA
The coordinating institution in this twinning project, FCiências.ID – Associação para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento de Ciências (FC.ID), is a non-profit private association endowed with a legal personality whose aim is to support, potentiate and develop Research, Development and Innovation (R&I) activities of its associates. FC.ID’s affiliated entity is the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (CIÊNCIAS-ULISBOA). The Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering (IBEB) – the research centre leading this Twinning project – is a research centre in CIÊNCIAS-ULISBOA which is legally represented by FC.ID, since FC.ID acts through CIÊNCIAS-ULISBOA in research-related activities.
IBEB, at FC.ID/CIÊNCIAS, is the first Portuguese institute to ever work in the area of MMWI, for breast cancer diagnosis in Portugal, since 2012, and the first in the world to propose the use of MMWI combined for breast cancer and axillary region diagnosis in 2018.
GALWAY
The beneficiary institution for this Twinning project, the University of Galway, is home to the Translational Medical Device Lab (TMD Lab), a research hub committed to advancing healthcare through innovative medical device development and support for Ireland’s MedTech industry. Situated within University Hospital Galway and co-located with the Health Research Board (HRB) Clinical Research Facility, the TMD Lab benefits from immediate access to clinical expertise and patient interaction, fostering a collaborative environment between clinical and research professionals.
The TMD Lab bridges the gap between academia and industry, implementing best practices in medical device development, design, and clinical evaluation, thereby playing a pivotal role in the MedTech sector. Notably, the TMD Lab is the first Irish institute to pioneer work in MMWI for bone health monitoring, initiating this effort in 2017 and contributing cutting-edge research toward non-invasive diagnostic solutions.
POLITO
Politecnico di Torino was the first Italian Engineering School founded in the wave of the technical and scientific innovation that gave rise to the most prestigious European polytechnic schools in the mid-19th century. Founded as School for Engineers in 1859, it then became Regio Politecnico di Torino in 1906. Engineers, architects, designers and urban planners have been trained at Politecnico di Torino for over 160 years with rigor, integrity and high-level standards. This long ever-changing history has rated Politecnico among the top European technical Universities for education and research, with 38,700 students and a teaching staff of more than 1,000. In 2013, Politecnico has been acknowledged by the EU Commission for its commitment towards the implementation of the EU Charter for Researchers and a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers through the “HR Excellence in Research” award.
In the 3BAtwin project, the Wavision Research Group is involved. Its medical research focuses on the development of electromagnetic technologies for enhancing diagnostic accuracy and creating advanced therapeutic tools, in particular for brain stroke imaging and Alzheimer’s disease early diagnostics.
