This MRSEI demand will enforce the relevance of the targeted European project EIC Pathfinder. This project meet together aconsortium of five partners : Grenoble INP as a coordinator,the CEA, a French SME Panoramic Digital Health, Aalto University in Finland and the FraunhoferInsitute IZM in Germany. The goal of IMHOTEP technology is to provide a connected device for both the doctor and the patient to detect the very first sign of melanoma to help diagnose the patient earlier and significantly improve prognosis. Our long-term vision is that IMHOTEP, will enable at-home, painless, non-invasive, short-time diagnosis, thanks to a compact, wearable, low-cost, reusable melanoma sensor included in a simple patch to apply on the suspicious area. “An early detection of melanoma: one patch on a mole on the skin”. The IMHOTEP project brings together cutting edge technology components to deliver a novel sub-THz imaging device suitable for use in a wearable way with the potential to be translated into a commercially viable product for home based patient monitoring. As well as combining the technologies for the very first time (high risk mitigated by the consortium expertise), the miniaturisation of the combined product as well as its ultra-low energy consumption make it suited for incorporating into wearables devices and/or skin patches. The clinical focus on IMHOTEP is melanoma (high risk mitigated by previous bulky volume imaging at similar frequencies on gastric tissues). However skin sensors offer the opportunity to quantitatively measure anything from skin hydration, wrinkles, lesions with commercial opportunities in both cosmetics and skincare as well as health applications. IMHOTEP is definitely a high risk / high gain project. The skincare market is growing and is expected to reach $189 billion by the year 2025 and this growth is leading to greater interest in skin analysis (ref. IDTEchEx report on skin sensors). With many technologies currently limited to use in the clinic due to their size and expense, this novel product has the potential to disrupt the market and open up advanced skin analysis to a much wider audience. Panoramic Digital Health (PDH), an SME partner with experience in the digital health market, provides expertise in developing prototypes and commercialization of wearable sensors for medical applications. PDH can lead a follow-up project to further advanced IMHOTEP TRL and industrialize the technology for applications in melanoma, and others that may emerge. Identifying commercial opportunities for the output of IMHOTEP will be supported by the Scientific Advisory Board (David E. Fisher, Professor at Harvard Medical School, Dermatology dpmt. / Luigi Boccia, Professor at the University of Calabria, Italy as a sub-THz antenna specialist / Ti-Hive that is a Grenoble SMEspelialized in production monituring through sub-THz sensing and imaging / Patients Association – to be defined). The target call within HORIZON EUROPE concerns the European Council of Innovation – Pathfinder - Open 2022. Three meain reasons : • IMHOTEP deals with an innovative device for a sub-THz sensor integrated inside a patch --> EIC. • Target TRL at the end of the project will reach 3-4 --> typically a Pathfinder. • IMHOTEP was already submitted in May 2021 (with a funding demand of 3 239 963 € reconducted in this edition), with encouraging evaluation report. A specialzed office in innovation will be consulted to help us to evaluate the relevance of our improved version (business model and complementary applications), justifying in part the MRSEI demand. The complementary funding will enable two consortium meetings.

The EMINENT project is concerned with the following research areas: (i) emerging memory technologies (memristors and spintronic devices) used in a non-Von Neumann context, (ii) hardware implementations of bio-inspired neural networks (Spiking Neural Networks), (iii) hardware dependability (robustness, reliability and test) and design-for-dependability. The goal of the EMINENT project is to provide a dependable Emerging Memory-based Spiking Neural Network architecture. This goal will be achieved by fulfilling the following objectives: (i) study of meaningful dependability threats in SNN architectures, (ii) reliability estimation campaign; (iii) post-fabrication test strategy and design-for-test solutions; (iv) strategy for architecture dependability improvement.

Artificial odour detection is a complex action due to the large number of ligands, often molecularly related, and present in small quantities in an environment with frequently varying pressure and humidity. To achieve this objective, the Bac4Nose project relies on the combination of three interdisciplinary expertises. The first one is based on the use of insect olfactory receptors (iORs) in order to integrate them into the membrane of innovative nanobioparticles developed in the framework of Bac4Nose. The detection of the molecule targeted by the chosen iOR results in cationic enrichment of the core of the nanobioparticle which, by field effect, plays the role of a switch on the electronic device that it functionalizes. The second innovation is based on the originality of the conducting channel of this electronic device. It is made up of a network of semiconductor nanowires that can be manipulated on a macroscopic scale and allows the manufacture of devices with a size ranging from 20µm to 1mm, with good sensitivity to surface events due to the nano components, good electrical performance and good reproducibility from one device to another. Finally, the third innovation is based on the development, from the outset, of a bio-inspiration algorithm associated with a neural network that has the highest discrimination rate based on the real characteristics of the bio-signals obtained, compatible with nanonet devices and with minimal processing, power and integration costs. One of the promising applications of this technology is in medical applications for non-invasive in vitro diagnosis. Such devices are single-use, leading to an environmental impact. Thus, for the integration process, Bac4Nose will focus on laying the foundations for an economical, environmentally friendly technology, leading to efficient sensors, compatible with flexible substrates, and allowing large-scale use at low cost and low thermal budget.

The very significant progress made on silicon technologies for millimetric applications makes possible the development of new systems for 6G, medical imaging or automotive safety. Unfortunately, the high frequency on-wafer characterization techniques required for the development of these applications use patented probe technologies in the 2000s that have evolved so little. Unfortunately, these commercial mmW probes have a strong coupling towards the substrate or towards the neighborhood and thus alter the accuracy of the measurement beyond 50 GHz. Thus, in this project, we propose to design miniaturized probes and manufacture them using MEMS-type silicon technology to better confine the electromagnetic field. In addition, this probe will be broadband type (DC-220/325 GHz) to adapt to new generations of network analyzer and will be more suitable for precise characterization of mmW or THz application.

Smart orthopedic implants open up very interesting prospects, particularly for the improvement of post-surgical follow-up. However, nowadays, the technologies available are not adapted to power fully-metallic prostheses used in orthopedics. This project aims to exploit a power transmission solution based on acoustic waves to transmit power in a knee implant. A knee joint model will be developed using new statistical modeling methods integrating acoustic parameters. In addition, the admissible input power levels will be studied to limit the physical mechanisms (thermal, cavitations) and remain below the values set by the standards and used by the commercial ultrasound equipments. This model and the input data will then be used to design, optimize the power transmission solution with both analytical and multi-physics Finite Element modeling methods for a tibial knee implant embedding piezoelectric transducers. We expect the acoustically powered system to receive an amount of electrical power within the 1 mW to 10 mW range at the receiver side while being compliant with medical standards and using commercial ultrasound probes at the transmitter side. Prototypes will be assembled and tested first on five knee phantoms elaborated within the project and then on three cadaveric specimens at the anatomical laboratory of the Brest CHRU. The proofs of concept (PoCs) will then allow to power a new generation of smart orthopaedic implants embedding sensors, that are more robust and more reliable, facilitating industrialization and ultimately allowing better clinical management.