Projektbeschreibung
Innovative Instrumente zur Analyse tieferer Hirnstrukturen
Die Erforschung der Ursachen von Hirnerkrankungen und funktionellen Veränderungen im Gehirn ist nur bedingt möglich, da dieser Bereich schlecht zugänglich ist. Um technologische Hürden auszuräumen, entwickelt das EU-finanzierte Projekt DEEPER Instrumente für die Bildgebung und neuronale Aktivierung tieferer Hirnstrukturen, u. a. hocheffiziente molekulare Sensoren, Sonden für die Zellüberwachung, Mikroskope sowie Mikroendoskope mit höchster Auflösung, Empfindlichkeit und Tiefenschärfe. DEEPER wird Einblicke in molekulare und zelluläre Fehlfunktionen geben, die spezifischen neurologischen und psychischen Krankheiten wie Schizophrenie, Autismus und Alzheimer zugrunde liegen.
Ziel
While brain disorders have different etiology and stem from distinct molecular and cellular dysfunctions, due to limitation in current technology they all share an incomplete understanding of the anatomical and functional alterations occurring in hard-to-access deep regions of the brain. DEEPER aims at tackling this fundamental challenge by developing an entire new class of photonic tools for imaging and manipulating neuronal activity in the deep brain with unprecedented penetration depth, resolution, sensitivity, specificity and depth of focus. Technology development in DEEPER will be driven by medical expertise and market requirements and it will be organized in three pillars focusing on: i) novel high-efficiency molecular sensors and actuators; ii) minimally invasive probes for monitoring and perturbing large populations of cells; iii) next generation multiphoton microscopes and microendoscopes. In a fourth pillar, this technological platform will enable a number of clinically relevant experiments which will contribute to reveal the molecular and cellular dysfunctions underlying the pathogenesis of specific neurological (addiction, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s disease) and psychiatric disorders (depression, schizophrenia, and autism). By shedding new light on the pathogenesis of disorders, which dramatically touch the lives of millions, DEEPER has the potential to profoundly impact our society. Moreover, in DEEPER technologists, neuroscientists, clinical and pre-clinical experts will bring the results from laboratory research to market supported by the SMEs in the consortium and by the companies and experts in the advisory board. This will make the translation and exploitation of the DEEPER technologies fast and effective, building a value chain with strong translational appeal that will strengthen Europe’s industrial position in the biophotonics market for optical neural interfaces, microscopy, and microendoscopy.
Wissenschaftliches Gebiet
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologydementiaalzheimer
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopy
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinepsychiatryschizophrenia
Schlüsselbegriffe
Programm/Programme
Thema/Themen
Aufforderung zur Vorschlagseinreichung
Andere Projekte für diesen Aufruf anzeigenUnterauftrag
H2020-ICT-2020-2
Finanzierungsplan
RIA - Research and Innovation actionKoordinator
16163 Genova
Italien