Beneficiary 1 - Coordinator

Scuola Superiore di studi universitari e di perfezionamento Sant'Anna

Brief Description of the Organization: 

Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna (SSSA) is a public university for research and advanced undergraduate and graduate education in the fields of social and experimental sciences.

Two research groups from SSSA are involved in M2Neural, as follows.

The BioRobotics Institute is an integrated system aimed at innovative research, education and technological transfer, and it intends to create new companies in high technology sectors (biomedical engineering, microengineering, robotics, mechatronics), through young, qualified and creative human resources trained in its research laboratories. The Director of the BioRobotics Institute is Paolo Dario and it is composed of about 150 persons (more than 90 are PhD students). The average age is 31.5 years. The foreign students are 10%. The women are 31%. The BioRobotics Institute is focused on interdisciplinarity by exploiting knowledge and technologies from various fields of engineering (mechanical, electronic, computer science, chemistry, materials, energy), and also transdisciplinarity, thanks to strong interactions with natural and social sciences.

The Joint Center on Translational Neurorehabilitation is a research center of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna which also involves researchers from Pisa University Hospital (PUH) and from the Institute of Neuroscience of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). The mission of the joint center, led by Prof. Micera (SSSA), Dr. Caleo (CNR), and Dr. Chisari (PUH) is to bring neurotechnologies to clinical trials by speeding up the transfer of basic science achievements to solutions usable for patients with different types of disabilities.

Role in the project: 

 

The BioRobotics Institute

Project coordination, polyimide functionalization, embedding of piezoelectric nanoparticles, ultrasound stimulation of the engineered constructs, preliminary in vitro tests, dissemination of the project outcomes.

The Joint Center on Translational Neurorehabilitation

Evaluation of the preclinical potential of the engineered coatings, in vivo tests, recordings/analysis of neural data among medical experts.

Team qualification in the field of proposal: 

 

The BioRobotics Institute possesses state-of-the-art micro- and nano-fabrication machinery and clean-room facilities, which are employed for research in sensors, actuators, biomaterials and nanoparticles for biomedical applications. A fully equipped cell culture Lab is also available for testing biomaterials with different cell lines. Equipment and set-up for controlled ultrasound stimulation are also available. At The BioRobotics Institute (which is currently educating about 80 PhD students on different topics related to BioRobotics), more than 20 PhD students are active on scientific programs related to biomedical MEMS and microsystems, biomechatronics, tissue engineering and bio-hybrid robotics.

Thanks to a high-level research, The BioRobotics Institute possesses outstanding records of publications and patents. It is involved in more than 10 national projects, more than 20 projects funded by the European Commission, and several international projects and cooperations. EU Projects coordinated by The BioRobotics Institute in the last decade are more than 15, several of which in the fields of micro-engineering and micro-robotics for medical and bio-related applications.

The Joint Center on Translational Neurorehabilitation is currently involved in activities related to neurotechnologies for amputees, stroke survivors and spinal cord-injured subjects. The center has a fully equipped animal laboratory with the possibility of performing different neurophysiological measurements.

Most Relevant Publications: 

The BioRobotics Institute

  1. L. Ricotti, …, and A. Menciassi. Boron nitride nanotube-mediated stimulation of cell co-culture on micro-engineered hydrogels. PLoS ONE. 8(8): e71707 (2013)
  2. M. Righi et al. Surface modification of polyimide thin films for peripheral invasive neural interfaces. J Med Dev. 7(2): 020937 (2013)
  3. G. Ciofani, L. Ricotti, V. Mattoli, and A. Menciassi. Preparation, characterization and in vitro testing of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid/barium titanate nanoparticle composites for enhanced cellular proliferation. Biomed Microdev. 13: 255 (2011)
  4. G. Ciofani, L. Ricotti, …, and A. Menciassi. Enhancement of neurite outgrowth in neuronal-like cells following boron nitride nanotube-mediated stimulation. ACS Nano. 4(10): 6267 (2010)
  5. P. Dario and A. Menciassi. Robot Pills. Scientific American. 303: 62 (2010)

The Joint Center on Translational Neurorehabilitation

  1. G. Courtine, S. Micera et al. Brain-machine interface: closer to therapeutic reality? Lancet. 381: 515 (2013)
  2. R. Van den Brand et al. Restoring voluntary control of locomotion after paralyzing spinal cord injury. Science. 336: 1182 (2012)
  3. S. Raspopovic et al. Experimental validation of a hybrid computational model for selective stimulation using transverse intrafascicular multichannel electrodes. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 20(3): 395 (2012)
  4. S. Raspopovic, …, and S. Micera. Restoring natural sensory feedback in real-time bidirectional hand prostheses. Science Transl Med. 6(222): 222ra19 (2014)
  5. C. Spalletti, …, C. Chisari, S. Micera, M. Caleo. A robotic system for quantitative assessment and post-stroke training of forelimb retraction in mice. Neurorehab Neur Repair. 28(2): 188-196 (2014)

People

SSSA

Prof. Arianna Menciassi, PhD, is Full Professor of Biomedical Robotics at SSSA. Her main research interests are in the fields of mechatronics, bio-hybrid systems, biomedical micro- and nano-devices and robotic surgery. She possesses an extensive experience in European Projects and international collaborative projects on topics related to robotic and microrobotic diagnosis, surgery and therapy. She is author of about 300 international papers (more than 150 on ISI journals), 1 edited book and 6 book chapters on medical devices and micro-technologies.

Prof. Silvestro Micera, PhD, is Full Professor of Bioengineering at SSSA. In 2007 he was a Visiting Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA with a Fulbright Scholarship. From 2008 to 2011 he was an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Institute for Automation, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (CH). In 2009 he was the recipient of the “Early Career Achievement Award” of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. He is author ~ 230 scientific papers and he is currently Associate Editor of several journals on Biomedical and Neural Engineering. He is involved in several international projects concerning the development of implantable systems for the restoration of sensory-motor functions, such as TIME, NEUWALK, EPIONE, and others.

Leonardo Ricotti, PhD, is currently Assistant Professor at the BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, where he leads the Lab "Micro-Nano-Bio Systems and Targeted Therapies". He obtained a PhD in Biorobotics in April 2012. His expertise includes micro/nano-robotics, bio-hybrid systems, and piezoelectric nanocomposites. He has also experience in reconfigurable microrobotics. He is author of about 45 international papers (more than 30 on ISI journals), 3 book chapters and 4 patents.

Guido Giudetti, PhD, obtained a PhD in Molecular Biotechnologies in 2008, with a thesis on neurodevelopmental biology and bioinformatics. He worked at the European Commission as scientific officer for policy making support on nanotoxicology of engineered nanoparticles. His expertise includes cell biology, molecular biology, neurobiology, nanobiotechnology. He is author and co-author of about 15 international papers and 1 patent, and co-founder of a bioinformatics start-up company.

 

 

Martina Righi, M.Eng, graduated in Biomedical Engineering in July 2012. She is currently a PhD Student in Biorobotics at The BioRobotics Institute, SSSA. Her research activity is focused on the development of advanced coatings for neural interfaces, including biocompatible polymers processing and functionalization. Her skills include photolithographic processes and in vitro cell analysis. She collaborates with SMANIA on neural interfaces’ microfabrication processes.

Alice Rita Salgarella, M.Eng, graduated in Biomedical Engineering in 2014. She is currently a PhD Student in Biorobotics at The BioRobotics Institute, SSSA. Her research activity is focused on the development of nanostructured materials and bio/non-bio interfaces for advanced biomedical applications. Her skills include material synthesis and characaterization, development of bio-hybrid devices and in vitro cell cultures.

Andrea Cafarelli, M.Eng, graduated in Biomedical Engineering in July 2013. He is currently a PhD Student in Biorobotics at The BioRobotics Institute, SSSA. His research activity is focused on the development of ultrasound-based systems for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. In particular, a part of his research is dedicated to the investigation of physical effects due to the interaction between ultrasound waves and nanostructured materials.

Dr. Matteo Caleo, PhD, is a prominent Italian neuroscientist, currently working on several translational projects to bring novel approaches to clinical trials. He leads the Institute of Neuroscience of CNR. His research interests include the plasticity of cortical development and the mechanisms of action of neurotoxins.

Dr. Carmelo Chisari, PhD, is a neurologist working at the Department of Neuroscience of Pisa University Hospital. He has a strong background and a long clinical expertise in neurorehabilitation, in particular on the use of neurotechnologies for functional restoration in patients showing different types of disabilities.

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