Objective
The ability to handle and operate on cells is an emerging technology that will accelerate the development of novel cell-based therapies. By being able to modify donor cells in-vitro to fight disease more effectively and in volume will have paradigm shifting advances in a wide range of fields such as biotechnology, pharmacology, agriculture, oncology, genetics and embryology. As highlighted by the Innovate UK Cell Therapy Catapult, by 2017 the cell-based therapy manufacturing industry will be worth more than €4.5billion. To realise this opportunity, it is vital clinicians and manufacturers have access to efficient tools that are also repeatable. Several methods exist that enable the manual manipulation of cells, amongst which microinjection tasks is the most common. However, current techniques are labour intensive, vary in quality, and lack the measurement of force between the tools used and the cell needed to reduce damage during contact. Moreover, as these processes are not automated and can only be performed one cell at a time, it is prohibitively expensive to produce new cell-based therapies at the volumes needed for clinical trials. To address these unmet needs, we present ‘HapticCell’, a robotic micromanipulation platform for low cost autonomous microinjection tasks. In this ERC-PoC project, we will extend our ERC research in telehaptic micromanipulation to support schemes for automation and establish its technical feasibility in performing repeatable microinjection tasks in volume appropriate for clinical needs. Further, in collaboration with spin out company Yantric, UCL Business and identified first customers, we will conduct the necessary commercial activities to translate HapticCell into the real world. To start, we envisage HapticCell to be an indispensable tool for achieving higher throughput in the in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) market, which will then act as a stepping stone into the broader single cell manipulation domain and cell-therapy production.
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.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine gynaecology reproductive medicine
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine embryology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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) ERC-2016-PoC
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
WC1E 6BT LONDON
United Kingdom
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.