Objective
HIV/AIDS is one of the most destructive pandemics in human history, responsible for more than 25 million deaths. More than 30 million people live with limited or no access to therapeutic treatments, mainly due to the high cost of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) and current diagnostic tests as well as due to the lack of basic infrastructure (e.g. lack of electricity, no trained personnel) that can support these tests. The need for innovative, inexpensive diagnostic instrumentation technology that can be used in resource-limited settings is immediate.
While programs that offer free HAART are being implemented in resource-limited settings, no diagnostic tests are available for evaluating the efficacy of HAART provided for the reasons mentioned above. Efficient management of HAART requires monitoring the course of HIV infection over time. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the CD4 T-cell count test for monitoring the clinical status of HIV individuals in resource-limited settings.
We propose to develop a portable, inexpensive, MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems)-based, imaging system for counting the absolute number of CD4 cells from 1 l of whole blood. We use the term ‘imaging system’ to denote the different approach we follow for counting CD4 cells: rather the reading one by one singles cells (as it is done with flow cytometry), our system can image simultaneously thousands of individual cells, pre-assembled on the surface of a biochip. Although the proposed imaging system can replace current expensive cell counting instrumentation, our goal is to develop a system that can reach the end-user wherever limited infrastructure is present and no access to a hospital or clinic is possible. Such technology will not only enable to monitor the efficacy of an individual’s HAART in the developing world, but it will make more medicines available by identifying patients who need a treatment from patients who do not need it.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- humanities history and archaeology history
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses HIV
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2011-StG_20101109
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
15 341 AGIA PARASKEVI
Greece
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.