Project description
Advanced bioimaging technology
There is an unmet worldwide need for accurate diagnosis and microscopic analysis at the point-of-care and in low-resource settings as existing infrastructure is cumbersome and expensive. Funded by the European Innovation Council, the DISRUPT project is developing a new lab-on-chip technology called 'integrated tomographic microscopy', which will revolutionise the field of biomedical imaging. By combining cutting-edge technologies and artificial intelligence, the consortium will develop tomographic microscopes that are much cheaper, lighter, and smaller. These improved microscopes are expected to find application in cancer diagnosis and research, as well as in telemedicine, offering improved resolution, sensitivity and energy efficiency.
Objective
DISRUPT aims at revolutionising the field of biomedical imaging by developing a radically new lab-a-on-chip technology: integrated tomographic microscopy. This unprecedented technique will be enabled by pushing forward the science of on-chip wireless photonics and tomography, in combination with microfluidics and artificial intelligence (AI). The CMOS compatibility of this technology represents a paradigm shift as it assures the realization of tomographic microscopes that are dramatically cheaper, lighter, and smaller than current approaches. Moreover, the singular features of the proposed solution introduce key advantages in terms of resolution, sensitivity, throughput, parallelisation, and energy efficiency. To illustrate its potential, we will show that on-chip TPM can be used for cancer detection and the identification of infected cells. Developments related to fundamental nanoantenna and diffraction tomography science, nanophotonics, nanofabrication, microfluidics, AI and clinical validation will be undertaken by a consortium comprised by 2 SME, 1 HE, 1 Non-profit RO and 2 Cancer R&D Medical institutions, with complementary expertise, leaders in their respective markets and R&D fields. This novel device is suited for many applications, such as early cancer diagnosis, cell characterisation, research on cancer and infectious diseases, immunocyte phenotyping, stem cell multipotency identification, tissue pathology, haematopathology, and analysis of infected cells. Its intrinsic mass-producible, compact, low-cost, mechanically robust, and energy-efficient feature makes this technology a future innovation driver for new developments in many biomedical application fields, and offers an alternative toolset addressing some of the emerging needs of microscopic analysis and diagnostics in low-resource settings, telemedicine applications and point-of-care, having a potentially huge societal impact fostering early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases and infections.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligence
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsmicrofluidics
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseases
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopy
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncology
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC GrantsCoordinator
46022 Valencia
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.