Alzheimer Hellas is thrilled to announce the official start of 2D-BioPAD, a pioneering project funded by the European Union, under Grant Agreement No.101120706. With a budget of nearly EUR 6 million, this Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action officially commenced in October 2023 and will last 48 months. The project’s kick-off meeting took place on 10-11 October 2023 in Thessaloniki (Greece) at the prestigious Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI) of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The kick-off meeting saw all project partners converge to discuss their roles, responsibilities, and aspirations for the successful realisation of the project's specific objectives. 2D-BioPAD is developing a fast, reliable, cost-effective and digitally enabled Point-of-Care (PoC) In-Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) system for early Alzheimer's disease (AD) detection. The 2D-BioPAD system employs cutting-edge 2D materials (i.e., graphene), nanomaterials and aptamers, to enhance biocompatibility, sensitivity, and specificity for simultaneously detecting up to five AD biomarkers in blood.
The device will be accompanied by a user-friendly mobile app that will give real-time access to quantified results to healthcare professionals in primary healthcare settings. Along the way, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be used for optimising the design and implementation of the 2D-BioPAD system. Two clinical pilot studies will be conducted in three European clinical centres, in Germany, Greece and Finland, offering the necessary evidence for technical and clinical validation. Regulatory and ethical considerations will be included in 2D-BioPAD’s design to allow faster and widespread adoption. The 2D-BioPAD consortium, under the leadership of CATRIN-RCPTM at Palacky University Olomouc, is composed of 11 partners across eight European countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, and Spain.
The consortium members include: Palacky University Olomouc (UP), Q-Plan International, Catalan Institute of Science and Nanotechnology (ICN2), Grapheal, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), Novaptech, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Greek Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), Envia, Central Institute of Men-tal Health in Manheim (ZI), and University College Dublin/National University of Ireland (NUID UCD - CeADAR).
