BioMeld - A Modular Framework for Designing and Producing Biohybrid Machines

Although medicine has made great strides in the field of cancer treatment, many obstacles still remain. For instance, even if a drug has proved efficient in a lab, it may not be so in a patient. Many cancers are highly desmoplastic. Thick fibrous tissue forms around and inside the tumour, making it highly inaccessible for conventional methods of drug delivery. A possible solution to this “logistical” problem lies in biohybrid machines (BHMs).

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BHMs are a relatively new concept, but one that shows great promise. These machines combine living cell actuators and artificial materials, and as such are more flexible, autonomous, and energy efficient than conventional robots.

The goal of project BioMeld is to design and manufacture a biohybrid catheter that would be small and flexible enough to gain access to hard-to-reach areas and deliver drugs on site. In order to achieve this, we will develop a modelling and simulation framework, test it and optimize it by developing a reconfigurable modular BHM catheter, and group the necessary manufacturing equipment into a biointelligent manufacturing cell (BIMC).

If successful, BioMeld will result in a streamlined manufacturing process that can be scaled up. This will be a pioneering effort, since nothing similar has ever been done in the field of BHM manufacturing.

Objectives

DEVELOP A MODELLING AND SIMULATION FRAMEWORK FOR THE DIGITAL DESIGN OF BHMS

FABRICATE A SET OF BHM-BASED MODULES FOR A RECONFIGURABLE MODULAR CATHETER

VALIDATE THE FRAMEWORK

CONSTRUCT THE DEMONSTRATION BIMC (BIO-INTELLIGENT MANUFACTURING CELL)

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Latest News

CIRP ICME ’23 Conference The 17th CIRP Conference on Intelligent Computation in Manufacturing Engineering (CIRP ICME ’23), 12-14 July 2023, Ischia, Italy, sponsored by the International Acade

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The first BioMeld Workshop The first workshop for the BioMeld project was held on 10 June in Genoa as part of the Living Machines 2023 conference.  The Workshop focused on providing a comprehensi

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BioMeld Project Meeting The BioMeld Workshop, held on 10 July as part of the Living Machines 2023 conference, provided a platform for the consortium members to convene beforehand and engage in discuss

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Integration tests at IBEC In February, Dr Stefano Lai from UniCA joined the Smart Nano-Biosensor Lab lead by Dr Samuel Sanchèz at IBEC for an intense week of integration tests of biohybrid actuators

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Kick-off meeting. The kick-off meeting for project BioMeld was held online via Skype on 18th of October, 2022. All partners attended the meeting, bringing together researchers and experts from Serbia,

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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101070328.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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