The AngeLab project has been acknowledged by the European Commission as one of the most innovative Horizon2020/FP7 projects in the area of "Micro/Nano Electronics", "Smart System Integration", or "Thin Organic Large Area Electronics". It received an Innovation Awards today in Rome in the framework European Nanoelectronics Forum.
The award, which distinguishes the most outstanding project among those that have received funding from the European Union through the Horizon 2020 and Framework Programme 7 (FP7) research & innovation support programmes, has been received by the coordinator of AngeLab, Dr. Jesús M. Ruano López, from the technology centre IK4-Ikerlan, in the ceremony held this afternoon.
AngeLab (A New GEnetic LABoratory for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis) was established in 2012, with a budget of 11 million euro, focussing on the development of a line of systems based on lab-on-a-chip technology, capable of detecting foetus genetic conditions by analysing the mother’s blood.
The project seeks to minimize current invasive techniques by developing diagnostic devices that are safer, more accessible and cheaper than current techniques for detecting genetic diseases before birth.
The development of the devices in the context of Angelab project constitutes the starting point for other pioneering systems that are not covered by any international or other research projects currently underway (recessive conditions or even dominant ones).
After the pilot production of the new devices, the systems are being technically validated with patients through more than 400 diagnostic tests carried out in centres of the Basque Health Service (Osakidetza).
IK4-IKERLAN coordinates a broad consortium of research centers, universities, and companies across Europe. In addition to Osakidetza (Basque Health Service): Hospital Universitario Basurto, Hospital Universitario Donostia and Biodonostia, DNA Data from Spain, CAN (Germany), NIPD and CING from Cyprus, EVGroup (Austria), Ademtech (France) and Biopharma (UK) take part as the business part of the consortium. The consortium is completed by IK4-GAIKER and Fundacion Rioja Salud from Spain, HS from Germany, and WUT from Poland.
The project is scheduled to end next year.