Food allergy is an immune-based disease that has become an important public health problem that affects children and adults and may be increasing in prevalence.In the US, food allergy affects 5% of children under the age of 5 years and 4% of teens and adults, and its prevalence appears to be on the increase. Globally, it is estimated that over 6% of the population, around 200 to 250 million people, suffer from some food allergies, affecting more than 17 million people only in Europe.

The main objective of this proposal is translating an optical diagnostic technology already proven in which the novel AllerScreening platform is based on, to the clinical routine, addressing a priority healthcare unmet need from the laboratory to the clinic. The unique features of AllerScreening will allow clinicians to early detect main food allergies (at least the 90% of European food allergies) through a simple test using a drop of sera, reducing the cost and technical requirements of the current clinical practice. This new and innovative cost-effective sensing system for the in vitro component diagnosis of food allergies will be feasible thanks to the multiplexed disposable BioKits and the optical Pont-of-Care (PoC) reader in which the novel AllerScreening platform is based on, allowing the adoption of a novel PoC diagnostic device specific for food allergies.

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In the last few years, many examples of blood and medicine delivery drones have been

demonstrated worldwide, which mainly rely on aeronautical experience that is not common in the medical world. Speaking about drone delivery, attention should focus on the most important thing: the transported lifesaving good. Traditional boxes that monitor temperature are not usually in real time, and are not suitable for drone transportation because they are heavy and bulky.

This means that the biomedical characteristics of delivery are of primary importance. A Smart Capsule, equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), is the first system ever proposed to provide a fully autonomous drone delivery service for perishable and high-value medical products, integrating real-time quality monitoring and control. It consists in a smart casing that is able to guide any autonomous aerial vehicle attached to it, specifically designed for transporting blood, organs, tissues, test samples and drugs, among others. The system monitors the conditions of the product (e.g., temperature, agitation and humidity) and adjusts them when needed by exploiting, for instance, vibrations to maintain the required agitation, ensuring that goods are ready to be used as soon as they are delivered.

The Smart Capsule also leverages external temperature to reduce energy uptake from the drone, thus improving the drone’s battery life and flight range. The system replaces the need for specialized drivers and traditional road-bound transportation means, while guaranteeing compliance with all applicable safety regulations. A series of 16 experimental tests was performed to demonstrate the possibility of using the smart capsule to manage the flight and internal good delivery. Eighty-one missions were carried out for a total of 364 min of flight.

The Smart Capsule greatly improves emergency response and efficiency of healthcare systems by reducing delivery times by up to 80% and costs by at least 28%. The Smart Capsule and its enabling technology based on AI for drone deliveries are discussed in this paper. The aim of this work is to show the possibility of managing drone delivery with an AI-based device.

The video, recorded in Malaga, shows how The Smart Capsule is able to transport blood precisely thanks to AI technology.  

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This project investigates evidence based gamification techniques for eHealth and mHealth and develops a multi-dimensional intervention support architecture/platform in order to improve the efficacy of gamified eHealth products (web-based health tools and health apps). The project will develop advanced game production techniques with ready-to-use toolkits to accelerate the innovation process for eHealth and mHealth products. This will help digital industry (games, IoT and ICT) to innovate new products and services with science and technology underpinnings.

It addresses fundamental issues of gamification for eHealth interventions including its development process and evaluation methods for measuring its efficacy. The outcomes of the project, manifested as gamification Toolkits, an integrated ICT Platform, and clinical assessment Methodologies as whole as a framework, will greatly accelerate the pace and scale of eHealth innovation by transforming and increasing its quality and efficiency through advanced technology tools, frameworks and methodologies. By using gamified physical activity engagement as a clinical intervention case study, the proposed framework will be evaluated and tested within patients in primary care settings, who are identified as physical inactive and at risk for their conditions due to sedentary behaviours. However, the gamification framework remains flexible and portable to other contexts of digital health interventions.

• • The project presents two key innovation components:
    An innovative collaborative R&D programme in collaboration with industry, focus on delivering solutions to address challenges in the development process of gamified eHealth products i.e. productivity and efficacy.
  • A strong and sustainable model of collaboration with digital industry and other relevant stakeholders fully integrated to develop the innovation capacity in SMEs in eHealth products, specifically gamified eHealth products and services

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“Paediatric medicines development is embedded in the European policy, legislation and in the work of the pharmaceutical industry but currently the potential of this effort is not realised.

The conect4children (c4c) project will address the critical problems with the design, implementation and operational conduct of paediatric clinical trials, for example the fragmented and redundant efforts between sponsors, sites and countries.
This project will generate a sustainable infrastructure that optimises the delivery of clinical trials in children through: a) a single point of contact for all sponsors, sites and investigators; b) efficient implementation of trials adopting consistent approaches, aligned quality standards and coordination of sites at national and international level; c) collaboration with specialist networks; d) high quality input to study design and preparation through rigorous strategic and operational feasibility assessment and e) the promotion of innovative methodologies.

The project will be managed according to IMI2 best practice with a dedicated communications effort. The clinical trials infrastructure will be setup, implemented and tested by implementing 3-4 industry and at least 1 non-industry proof-of-viability studies. Expert advice groups will promote innovative methodologies and engagement with regulators. The business model for a sustainable infrastructure will be based on the European landscape of paediatric networks and available trial sites, the evaluation of services needs of sponsors of all kinds, and will be informed by the proof-of-viability studies. Supporting activities will include: data management (data about the trials and the network, including performance metrics for network management and promotion; handling trial data for non-industry sponsors; support for common data dictionaries); education and training.
The voices of children, young people and their families will be central to the network.”

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