INFORMATION TRANSFER BETWEEN MEDICAL DOCTORS AND IMPLANTED MEDICAL DEVICES VIA ARTIFICIAL MOLECULAR COMMUNICATION

Project Information

ERMES

Grant agreement ID: 101185661

DOI

10.3030/101185661

EC signature date 30 October 2024

Start date 1 April 2025

End date 31 March 2028

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 4 195 681,00

EU contribution

€ 4 195 681,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CATANIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ERMES (INFORMATION TRANSFER BETWEEN MEDICAL DOCTORS AND IMPLANTED MEDICAL DEVICES VIA ARTIFICIAL MOLECULAR COMMUNICATION)

Reporting period: 2025-04-01 to 2026-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Modern healthcare is increasingly reliant on active implanted medical devices (AIMDs) to monitor, control, and treat a growing number of chronic and acute conditions. However, despite their technological sophistication, these devices remain fundamentally limited by their inability to communicate efficiently within the human body, a so-called *wave-denied environment* where electromagnetic signals are strongly attenuated, energy-constrained, or restricted by safety regulations. This limitation represents a critical bottleneck, preventing real-time interaction, adaptive control, and continuous monitoring.

ERMES addresses this challenge by introducing a new communication paradigm based on synthetic molecular communication (MC), where information is encoded, transmitted, and decoded through chemical messengers rather than electromagnetic waves. This approach aligns with Horizon Europe priorities in digital health, advanced medical technologies, and next-generation communication systems, addressing the need for more effective, less invasive, and more sustainable healthcare solutions.

The overall objective of ERMES is to develop the scientific and technological foundations that will enable future AIMDs to communicate with each other and with medical doctors through molecular messengers. The project does not aim at developing medical devices themselves, but at establishing the communication layer that will make such devices interoperable and functionally advanced in wave-denied environments.

To achieve this, ERMES is structured along four tightly interconnected pillars: theoretical modelling and system design (Pillar 1), in-vitro experimental platforms (Pillar 2), in-vivo validation systems (Pillar 3), and secure and trusted communication frameworks (Pillar 4). Together, these components define a coherent pathway from concept to component validation, targeting TRL 4.

The project pathway to impact is based on the development of a multilevel toolbox integrating modelling, molecular carriers, experimental validation, and communication strategies. This toolbox is designed to be adopted by future developers of AIMDs and related technologies, enabling applications such as real-time biomarker monitoring, targeted therapy control, and continuous data exchange between implanted systems and external interfaces. Given the multi-billion-euro scale of the relevant markets, even limited adoption of this enabling technology would generate significant economic and societal impact.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first reporting period, ERMES focused on establishing the scientific and technological foundations of synthetic molecular communication, achieving concrete progress across all core technical pillars.

In WP3 (related to PILLAR 1), the consortium developed and validated advanced analytical models for molecular communication in complex environments. In particular, the MIGHT (Mixture of Inverse Gaussians for Hemodynamic Transport) framework provides the first closed-form channel impulse response for arbitrarily complex vascular networks, including both SISO and MIMO configurations.

In WP4 (related to PILLAR 2), UNICT developed a new class of fluorescent carbon-based molecular messengers, designed explicitly for communication purposes. Two complementary synthetic strategies were established, enabling controlled functionalization and multi-channel optical response within a single nanoscale platform. The materials were extensively characterized (XPS, AFM, FT-IR, TOF-SIMS), confirming structural integrity, reproducibility, and functional performance. These results demonstrate the feasibility of engineering molecular carriers with properties tailored for information encoding and detection.

In WP5 (related to PILLAR 3), the consortium initiated the development of experimental testbeds, including rat cadaver and CAM (chorioallantoic membrane) models. The CAM platform was successfully used to generate experimental datasets for molecular transport, providing one of the first in-vivo validation environments for molecular communication systems. Initial integration of fluidic components and validation of flow conditions were achieved, establishing the basis for future system-level experiments.

In WP6 (related to PILLAR 4), the consortium established the theoretical framework for secure molecular communication, addressing confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and operational security at the level of molecular signals. These principles define the basis for future implementation and validation within experimental platforms.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The results achieved in RP1 already demonstrate clear advances beyond the current state of the art in molecular communication, both at the theoretical and experimental levels.

From a modelling perspective, ERMES has introduced the MIGHT framework, which provides the first closed-form analytical description of molecular transport in arbitrarily complex vascular networks, including multiple-input multiple-output configurations. This represents a substantial advancement over existing approaches, which are typically limited to simplified geometries or rely on numerical convolution methods that fail to capture branching effects. In addition, the explicit identification and mitigation of multiple inter-symbol interference mechanisms in closed-loop systems addresses a fundamental limitation of molecular communication in physiological environments, enabling the design of reliable communication strategies in conditions that were previously considered intractable.

At the experimental level, ERMES has moved beyond the traditional use of passive or non-specific chemical tracers by developing molecular messengers whose properties are explicitly engineered for communication purposes. The introduction of multi-chromophoric carbon-based nanoparticles enables, for the first time, the possibility of multiplexed and high-dimensional encoding within a single nanoscale platform, which has no direct equivalent in current experimental molecular communication systems.

Furthermore, the project has established a direct and reproducible link between theory and experiment. The ability to transfer simulation geometries into physically realizable systems and validate them experimentally represents a significant methodological advancement, addressing a long-standing gap in the field where theoretical models and experimental demonstrations are often disconnected.

The development of in-vivo compatible testbeds, in particular the use of the CAM model as a controlled yet realistic environment for molecular transport studies, provides one of the first experimentally accessible platforms for validating molecular communication concepts under physiologically relevant conditions.

The potential impact of these results is substantial. ERMES is laying the foundation for a new class of communication technologies that can operate in environments where electromagnetic approaches are ineffective, with direct implications for biomedical systems and beyond.