Project description
Advancing multiphoton microscopy for deeper and faster biomedical imaging
The development of new therapeutic strategies for different types of diseases requires dedicated instruments capable of encompassing biological problems in their entirety by monitoring them at all relevant length- and timescales. The EU-funded FAIR CHARM project aims at providing two complementary imaging solutions, SWIM and SLIDE, which transform the capacity to capture in real-time the biological processes as well as the cellular and extracellular structures involved in disease onset and progression. While the SWIM microscope uses novel laser sources in the infrared wavelength region around 1700 nm to penetrate deeper into biological tissue, the SLIDE microscope pushes the boundaries of fast multiphoton microscopy to imaging rates in excess of several thousand images per second.
Objective
The emergence of innovative research avenues in biomedicine in the last decades (cell therapy, cancer immunotherapy, bio-nanotechnology) has led to many proof-of-principle demonstrations fostering the hope for new therapeutic strategies for diseases. However, the translation from a laboratory bench into clinical practice has often proven unproductive. One of the reasons for this failure in translation is in the absence of imaging instruments capable of encompassing both the subcellular length-scale, where pathogenic disorders are set in, and that of tissues with differentiated cell types required to organize spatial and temporal functionality. An instrument enabling translation should allow resolving three-dimensional features within this large spatial range and operating with the same physical observables at each length scale, also enabling millisecond temporal resolution to monitor relevant processes. These requirements are essential to elucidate the hierarchical and temporal connections between micro and macro structures and events. Multiphoton microscopy has a yet undiscovered potential to fulfill these needs. FAIR CHARM aims at bringing this technique to its full capacity by i) providing access to millimetre imaging depths by building a microscope (SWIM) with excitation in the Short-Wave Infrared Region relying on new laser sources, optimized optics, and ad hoc labelling probes; ii) enabling unprecedented acquisition frame-rates (kHz/s) by the Spectro-temporal Laser Imaging by Diffracted Excitation (SLIDE) approach; iii) adapting Deep Learning recognition algorithms to multiphoton observables. The consortium features photonics innovators, worldwide renown enterprises in laser technology and microscopy, and clinical and biomedical end-users selected within the oncology/immunology, regenerative medicine, and neural signalling fields to provide the scientific push and timely feedback during the development of the final devices: SWIM and SLIDE.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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H2020-EU.2.1.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
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.
RIA - Research and Innovation action
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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.
(opens in new window) H2020-ICT-2018-20
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1211 Geneve
Switzerland
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.