During the month of July four cascade calls were launched within the Fit for Medical Robotics project, coordinated by the National Research Council (CNR), which brings together 25 partners, of which 11 Universities and Research Institutes, 11 Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare (IRCCS) and Clinical sites, as well as 3 industries.
With an overall investment of €126 million, the initiative aims to revolutionize the current rehabilitation and assistive models to people of any age with reduced or absent motor, sensory, or cognitive functions, by using appropriate (bio)robotic technologies, some allied digital technologies and the “continuum of care” paradigm through-out all the phases of the rehabilitation process, from prevention to home care in the chronic phase.
The calls are open to Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Large Enterprises (LEs), Italian State and Private Universities legally recognized and accredited by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), Italian Research Organizations (ROs), Local Socio-Health Authorities (ASST) and Third Sector Associations.
The first call, issued by the University of Pavia which is responsible for coordinating Spoke 1 of the “Fit4Med Rob” project on 9 July 2024, is included in Mission 1 of the project, which focuses on Clinical Tranlsation and Innovation. The institute has allocated a fund of €6 million and the deadline for the submission of applications is 2 September 2024.
In particular, the topics of interest are: Upper limb amputation and functional stump surgery; stump surgery and care of patients with upper limb prosthesis. Acute phase of disease; acute phase profiling of patients with stroke or acute neuromuscular disease for inclusion in rehabilitation protocols. Subacute phase of disease; rehabilitation using robotic and technological systems in an integrated system model focused on multi-domain treatment in the subacute phase of stroke. Chronic phase of disease; robotic and technological rehabilitation in patients with sensory-motor and/or cognitive disabilities in the chronic phase.
The second call, issued by the Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing of the National Research Council (CNR-STIIMA) on 1 July 2024, is included in Mission 2, focused on Biorobotic Platforms & Allied Digital Technologies. The institute has allocated a fund of €7.5 million and the deadline for the submission of applications is 31 August 2024.
In particular, the topics of interest are: Functional Electrical Stimulation systems; home-based assistance/rehabilitation robots or technologies (tele-rehab, continuum of care), attentional state monitoring technologies during rehabilitative exercise, pediatric robots, occupational robots.
For the third call, issued by the Federico II University of Naples on 16 July 2024, under Spoke 3, has allocated a fund of €9 million euro and the deadline for the submission of applications is 10 September 2024.
In particular, the topics of interest are: Soft Robots and Soft Actuators; hardware (sensors, mechanisms and robots) for rehabilitation; in-vivo pre-clinical validation of new-generation biomaterials for tissue regeneration of trauma patients.
Last but not least, the fourth call, coordinated by the CNR, is an expression of interest for being included in the list of experts who will evaluate the projects to be funded by the cascade calls of the Fit4MedRob initiative. The deadline for the submission of applications is 7 September 2024.
The expert evaluators must have specific skills, with particular focus on the following topics: Functional Electrical Stimulation systems, home-based assistance/rehabilitation robots or technologies (tele-rehab, continuum of care), monitoring and validation technologies, pediatric robots, occupational robots (workers, frail elderly).
See also: Robotic rehabilitation, a survey on patients’ needs launched within the Fit4MedRob project
