Objective
The overall objective of this proposal is to develop a fast and cost-effective diagnostic tool for bacterial meningitis, i.e. the detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis in cerebrospinal fluid.
Kits, consisting of disposable sensing chips and separate detector units, will be developed. The tool shall be low priced and easy to use so that health workers with limited analytical training can employ the kits in the field
The tool shall lead to a faster diagnosis, speeding up a targeted antibiotics treatment, thus improving the survival chances of the patient, while facilitating the identification of the infection source and the isolation of individuals, in order to halt the epidemics
The main project novelty is the use of aptamer receptors. Aptamers have several advantages over conventional antibodies e.g. significantly lower price, fast development and increased stability.
Three sensor technologies will be developed aiming to obtain at least one commercial product by the end of the project. All technologies share the same aptamers and surface activation of the active area.
The project success depends on a tight and well-planned collaboration between partners. Partner 1 will develop the S. pneumoniae and N. meningitidis aptamers, and will provide already available micro-organism specific aptamers for parallel sensor development.
The near-market technology is evanescent fluorescence, already commercialised by Partner 2. Adaptation of the aptamers and of the Eva-Sensor Chip, will be done and validated in collaboration with Partners 1 & 3.
Partner 1 will develop sensors based on microelectromechanical systems and liquid crystals. Either of these–acoustic and volumetric– technologies have, with limited commercial success, been used with molecular targets. Compared hereto targeting micro-organisms generate amplified signals. Partner 3 will design the fluidic chip incorporating the sensor. The resulting system will be commercialised by Partners 2 & 3
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
- engineering and technology materials engineering liquid crystals
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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.
FP7-HEALTH-2012-INNOVATION-2
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.
Coordinator
28040 MADRID
Spain
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.