NEON: Nanophotonics for new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in oncology and neurology.

Coordinator: Prof. A. Cutolo (Università del Sannio, Benevento – I)

Duration: 30 month, from 30/04/2019 to 31/10/2021

Funding: IUNET share: € 718.875

Partner: It is a MIUR PON-FESR project with 8 italian partners: 1 University (UniSannio), 2 Inter-University Consortia (CERITEC, IUNET), 4 enterprises (LFoundry, HPSystems, LINEAR, MIGMA), 1 IRCSS (IRST)

IU.NET units involved: Università di Roma “La Sapienza”: Dipartimento di Informazione, Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni (DIET), Dipartimento di scienze di Base ed Applicate per l’Ingegneria (SBAI), Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Aeronautica (DIMA). Internal IUNET coordinator: Prof. Fabrizio Palma.

Description: In recent years, with the increase in life expectancy, there has been an increase in the incidence of oncological and neurodegenerative diseases whose treatment, despite advances in the knowledge of basic mechanisms, still has many "unmet medical needs". Therefore, scientific research in the field of these pathologies requires more and more relevant new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. It is interesting to note that, despite the differences in the pathogenesis of these diseases, it is possible to identify a number of markers whose expression is modified in a different way in the various pathologies considered.

Devices that allow the correlation of several parameters observed in peripheral blood - liquid biopsies, or tissues of patients with oncological and neurodegenerative diseases and the presence of specific circulating markers together with the identification of released proteins could improve early diagnosis, provide useful prognostic data for targeting surgery and helping the development of targeted and localized therapies.

In this context, this project aims to implement a line of action aimed at developing a new class of devices capable of revolutionizing the techniques and approaches currently used for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy in the oncological and neurological field. Specifically, it is proposed to develop:

 i) two Lab-On-Fiber probes, one SERS-based probe for fast and non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis of various tumor phenotypes and one probe for release controlled by light-activated drugs;

ii) Lab-on-Chip (LOC) biosensors, based on both optical and electronic techniques, capable of differential diagnosis of different forms of cerebral ischemia.

The project also includes a phase of design, implementation and integration of appropriate positioning and/ or manipulation systems for fiber optic probes into needles as well as microfluidic circuits needed for the release / release of biological fluids, achieving remarkable steps in forward to the development of a unique ultra-innovative Therapeutic Instrument (Lab-in-a-Needle-LIN) that would revolutionize the currently used diagnosis and therapy methods.

ADAS+ - Advanced technology and system developments for automotive safety via Advanced Driver Assistance System platforms

Coordinator: STMicroelectronics, Catania

Duration: 30 month, from 01/06/2018 to 30/11/2020

Funding: IUNET share € 479.000,40

Partner: It is a MIUR PON-FESR project with 8 italian partners: 2 Universities (UniCT and UniAG)), 2 Inter-University Consortia (INSTM, IUNET), 2 enterprises (STMicroelectronics, MTA-Advanced Automotive Solutions), 2 Technological Districts (Innovaal, DMNS).

IU.NET units involved: Università di Bologna, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia. Internal IUNET coordinator: Prof. Paolo Pavan.

Description:

The ADAS + project aim is to develop an innovative demonstrator of safe driving assistance (ADAS +) able to monitor in real time the psycho‐physical state of the driver, his level of sobriety and the quality of the air in the passenger compartment. This goal will be achieved through the use of advanced silicon‐based technologies, image processing algorithms and nano‐structured materials, integrated into a common platform that meet the safe driving standards required for new generation of "smart" cars.

This goal will be pursued through the development and integration of three major prototype technological modules:

• Fisio Module made of silicon miniaturized optical probes based on SiPM (silicon photomultiplayer) technology, integrated into the steering, able to monitor the driver's drowsiness through the real time control of the heart rate and its variability.

• Vision module consists of (a) Visible light cameras and (b) IR light cameras aimed to detect signs of fatigue or irritability; (c) Silicon Radar / Lidar Systems aimed to recognize obstacles outside the passenger compartment.

• Chemical Sensor Module constituted by: (a) Multichip with electrical transduction to control the driver's sobriety level integrated in the steering wheel; (b) Environmental microchip sensors for air quality control of the passenger compartment that include the using of silicon‐based nanostructured materials such as Silicon Nanowire and MOx (Metal Oxides).

The above described prototype modules will be integrated into the final ADAS + control unit prototype including the silicon components developed in the project that will then be validated on test car.