Descripción del proyecto
Herramientas innovadoras para el análisis del encéfalo profundo
La comprensión del origen y de los cambios funcionales de las encefalopatías está limitada por la inaccesibilidad del encéfalo. Para abordar las limitaciones tecnológicas existentes, el proyecto financiado con fondos europeos DEEPER se propone desarrollar herramientas para la obtención de imágenes y la manipulación de la actividad neuronal en el encéfalo profundo. Las herramientas en desarrollo incluyen sensores moleculares de alto rendimiento, sondas para la supervisión celular, microscopios y microendoscopios con una resolución, sensibilidad y profundidad de enfoque sin parangón. El proyecto DEEPER aportará información sobre las disfunciones moleculares y celulares relacionadas con trastornos neurológicos y psiquiátricos como la esquizofrenia, el autismo y la enfermedad de Alzheimer.
Objetivo
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.
Ámbito científico
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurologydementiaalzheimer
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopy
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinepsychiatryschizophrenia
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-ICT-2020-2
Régimen de financiación
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinador
16163 Genova
Italia