The use of industrial robots, specifically multi-axis robotic systems, for object handling and manipulation has significantly increased due to the need to reduce costs, increase production efficiency and avoid difficult and dangerous jobs for humans. Despite the important capabilities of robots, especially in manufacturing, and their use in many types of process automation, their accuracy is relatively poor (in the millimetre range for 1 m^3 working volume), compared to other Cartesian-based Numerically Controlled (NC) automation systems, due to their joint compliance and relatively high structural flexibility in comparison to load capacity. Because of these limitations, robots are restricted in their use for processes that require very high accuracy. Recently, collaborative robots, a special type of multi-axis industrial robot, that can be placed without a safety fence, have become a popular choice due to their flexibility, simplicity to re-program and ability to safely work collaboratively with humans in the same workplace. The joint compliance in these collaborative robots is even less rigid than traditional industrial robots due to the need to have responsive force sensing and coalition-reaction capabilities, further decreasing accuracy capabilities. Most collaborative robots are unable to achieve an absolute positioning accuracy within a 1 m^3 working volume of less than 2.5 mm, making their accuracy more than one order of magnitude higher than their resolution (0.1 mm). This low accuracy limits their utilisation, especially for collaborative robot, so that they are generally restricted to simple pick-and-place tasks. This project will increase by an order of magnitude the absolute positioning accuracy of industrial robots with multi-axis motion to less than 100 micrometres for working volumes exceeding 1 m^3. In this way we will enable precise object manipulation across many application areas.

Cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women worlThe ELEVATE project sets a multidisciplinary team comprising manufactures and experts from Europe and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, to improve the global adequacy and coverage of cervical cancer screening, particularly to specific populations of women that by not being regularly screened (hard-to-reach populations) are at higher-risk to develop cervical cancer. Although Cervical cancer is still the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with up to 85% of the burden occurring in developing countries, preventive vaccination against human papillomavirus and early detection of precancer in screening programs has shown to be successful in reducing cancer incidence and mortality.1–3 However, different challenges hamper a global implementation of such programs and are in the base of women’s non-attendance to screening. This highlights the lack of reflection of ethnic, cultural and resource differences from different populations in current cervical cancer screening. In ELEVATE it is proposed to conduct social science investigations to identify hard-to-reach women in Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador and Portugal, to address their barriers to screening and to design strategies to make primary screening more accessible to them, and therefore, contribute to reduce the global burden of cervical cancer. This will be complemented with fundamental and technological research to develop an efficient and marketable test for the combined genomic and proteomic detection of high-risk HPV infections in Belgium and Ecuador. The test will be made portable, low-cost, compatible with self-sampling, point-of-care and generate rapid and easy-to-understand results, without relying on electrical outlets or trained health personnel. Integrant part of the proposal is also to infer and disseminate the societal, economic implications of the developed strategies using a hard-to-reach community-based participatory research.

As a consequence of the ageing of the society, osteoporosis (literally “porous bone”) and its complications is becoming more and more prevalent, making the bone disease a health priority in many parts of the world. Currently osteoporosis is commonly known as a “silent killer” disease. Usually osteoporosis manifests itself in a drastic manner, i.e. through fracture of the osteoporotic bone in the affected individual. Until now little or no measures for prevention or early detection of this disease are taken, because no simple, yet sufficiently precise or sensitive tools for early detection of individuals at risk of osteoporosis are available. The overall objective of the currently proposed PoCOsteo project therefore is the development, clinical validation and preparation for commercialisation of a Point-of-Care tool for bone disease (a.o. osteoporisis) prevention, detection and treatment. To realize this objective a balanced consortium of 5 research partners and 3 SME’s has been brought together, and a well considered workplan devised. Two TRL3 technologies for individual proteomic and genomic electrochemical sensors, available from 2 consortium partners will form the base of the developments. The sensors will be further optimised, combined in a single microfluidic cartridge and integrated in a complete and independent point-of-care bone health assessment tool. The tool will consequently be clinically validated in 2 hospitals (Graz and Tehran), and a business plan for a commercial start-up company wil be prepared for the intended valorisation of the technical and medical activities. The aim is to reach a TRL6 / TRL7 for the complete tool and for the combined microfluidci cartridges. The project will be supported and advised by the IOF, the International Osteoporosis Foundation, which is the main global alliance of patient societies, research organizations, healthcare professionals and international companies working to promote bone, muscle and joint health.