Innovative Health Initiative launches second calls for proposals
Following the success of its first call in June, the European Commission’s Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) is launching its second round of calls for proposals! Informative webinars and other events will be scheduled to inform interested partners about the final topics and rules for applying.
The following draft topics have not yet been approved by the IHI Governing Board, but their announcement is intended to allow potential partners to build a consortium and draft a proposal.
Draft proposals of Call 3 currently include single-stage topics on:
- Screening platform and biomarkers for prediction and prevention of diseases of unmet public health need
- Patient-generated evidence to improve outcomes, support decision making, and accelerate innovation
- Combining hospital interventional approaches to improve patient outcomes and increase hospital efficiencies
- Strengthening the European ecosystem for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) and other innovative therapeutic modalities for rare diseases
- Digital health technologies for the prevention and personalised management of mental disorders and their long-term health consequences
And Call 4 asks for two-stage topics on:
- Expanding translational knowledge in minipigs: a path to reduce and replace non-human primates in non-clinical drug safety assessment
- Patient-centric blood sample collection to enable decentralised clinical trials and improve access to healthcare
EIBIR will disseminate more information about the final IHI calls and associated events as it becomes available.
i-Violin holds Kick-Off Meeting with EC and HaDEA
With the tender beginning this month, the 10 members of the i-Violin consortium held on September 21 and 22 in Vienna their Kick-Off Meeting before representatives of the European Commmission’s DG ENER and HaDEA, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency. The consortium presented an overview of the project and the workplan for all seven work packages, receiving feedback and an outlook on cooperation with the EC, project officer and SAMIRA Steering Group on Quality and Safety.
The i-Violin project, standing for “implementing verifiable oncological imaging by quality assurance and optimisation,” aims to satisfy the clearly identified need to optimise and harmonise oncological imaging procedures in Europe and ensure their broad adoption. The current disparities in oncological imaging procedures in Europe, which i-Violin can address at the transnational level to improve cancer care for Europe’s patients, are evident from several recent projects and surveys conducted by the EuroSafe Imaging campaign. i-Violin will contribute to establishing a harmonised and standardised oncological imaging approach focusing on the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and a targeted education and training programme for radiologists, radiographers and medical physicists will accompany dissemination and foster uptake. As Scientific Coordinator Prof. Christoph Hoeschen (Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, DE) explained, dissemination will be essential to ensure implementation of the new tools and optimised procedures. The EC looks forward to the results of this project as a promising opportunity to advance cancer care under the EU4Health Programme.
i-Violin – EIBIR leads new project to support and implement optimisation and harmonisation of oncological imaging procedures in Europe
On 1 September 2022, i-Violin a 24-month project co-funded by the EU under the EU4Health programme 2021-2027 was officially launched. The project brings together 10 partners from 9 countries and aims to improve optimisation and harmonisation of oncological imaging procedures in Europe and to ensure their broad adoption to improve the quality and safety of cancer care for Europe’s patients.
Several ongoing projects and recent surveys have demonstrated disparities in oncological imaging procedures across Europe. Furthermore, they have also advanced the understanding of imaging and their effects, on which i-Violin will build upon; mainly the Horizon 2020 MEDIRAD project (no. 755523, website) completed in February 2022 and the ongoing SINFONIA project (no. 945196, website), both related to dose determination in three-dimensional imaging as well as image quality assessment.
During the Kick-Off meeting of September 19 and 20 in Vienna and online, the consortium will present its objectives and workplan to the European Commission and receive their feedback as the tasks get underway. Each work package will be detailed, and an overall project timeline will be negotiated. This is a tremendous opportunity for the visibility of the project and its work.
Read more about the project and its objectives here.
Apply now for the ESR Research Seed Grant Global
Following the highly successful ESR Research Seed Grant Initiative, EIBIR, in collaboration with the European Society of Radiology (ESR), is pleased to invite applications for the ESR Research Seed Grants Global, which have been kindly supported by an unrestricted, non-exclusive grant from Siemens Healthineers.
The purpose of this programme is to stimulate and provide funding for innovative projects and pilot studies that will subsequently lead to larger studies and further funding applications.
Project proposals must align with the ESR Research Seed Grants thematic areas. The funding priorities 2022 are for research in enhancing quality in radiological imaging and interventional radiology and in value-based radiology with a focus on (but not limited to) ultrasound, CT, and conventional imaging
The application deadline is: September 20, 2022 (11:59 am CET).
Learn more.
Innovative Health Initiative launches first Calls for Proposals
The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), founded by the European Commission (EC), is launching its first calls for proposals! To kick start the initiative, there’ll be a free of charge event on 14 June 2022.
The one-day hybrid kick-off and brokerage event will consist of open discussions and give you a chance to build networks. With two sessions planned for the day, the first will present the content of the upcoming calls and highlight the rules for participation. The second will follow with information on forming consortia and give you a chance to make elevator pitches on proposals.
EIBIR encourages our community members to attend the event and learn more about the initiative. We will for sure be attending!
Alongside the kick-off event, IHI has also organised a series of webinars from 10 to 23 June on the rules and procedures of application and the different eligible funding topics.
Proposal Call 1 will include single-stage topics on:
- Next generation imaging and image-guided diagnosis and therapy for cancer
- Access and integration of heterogeneous health data for improved health care in diseases areas of high unmet public health need
- Personalised oncology: Innovative people-centred, multi-modal therapies against cancer
- An innovative decision-support system for improved care pathways for patients with neurodegenerative diseases and comorbidities
And Call 2 asks for two-stage topics on:
- Cardiovascular diseases – improved prediction, prevention, diagnosis and monitoring
- Setting a harmonised methodology to promote uptake of early feasibility studies for clinical and innovation excellence in the European Union
There’ll be a webinar session on each of these calls and topics, so please be sure to register and gain all the necessary input to have the best chances of creating a winning proposal! Further information and links to registration are available here.
EIBIR at ECR 2022
Five dedicated EIBIR sessions will take place during ECR 2022 from July 13-17, 2022.
Seize this opportunity to learn about our successful research projects, ask the experts about artificial intelligence in medical imaging, image collections, safety in radiology, or new directions in pre-clinical imaging and learn how to succeed in the European funding landscape.
Visit the EIBIR Lounge to talk to us about funding opportunities for imaging research.
We look forward to seeing you at ECR!
The MEDIRAD project: improving medical radiation protection for patients and staff (Open access)
July 13, 11:30-12:30 CEST
– Chairpersons’ introduction (E. Cardis; Barcelona/ES, G. Frija; Paris/FR)
– CT exposure in childhood and subsequent risk of cancer (I. Thierry-Chef, Barcelona/ES)
– Patient-specific radiation dose and cancer risk for chest CT (J. Damilakis; Iraklion/EL)
– Cardiac CT and cardiac MRI biomarkers before and after breast cancer irradiation: the EARLY-HEART study (E. Mousseaux; Paris/FR)
– Effectiveness of staff radioprotective equipment during interventional procedures with a special focus on the eye lens and the brain (J. Dabin; Mol/BE)
– EIBIR activities and upcoming funding opportunities (N. Peld; Vienna/AT)
– Panel discussion: How can the results of the MEDIRAD project be translated into daily clinical practice?
New applications and technologies for the medical use of ionising radiation and related quality and safety perspectives (an update from the EURAMED rocc-n-roll project)
July 13, 13:00-14:00 CEST
– Chairpersons’ introduction (C. Hoeschen; Magdeburg/DE, K. Riklund; Umea/SE)
– New applications and technologies in interventional procedures (C. Iosif, Nicosia/CY)
– New developments in paediatric radiology (C. Granata; Genoa/IT)
– The clinical EURAMED rocc-n-roll perspective on new developments (K. Riklund; Umea/SE)
– Open forum discussion
New directions in preclinical molecular imaging
July 13, 15:00-16:00 CEST
– Chairpersons’ introduction (S. Aime; Turin/IT)
– Role of intracellular water lifetime as a tumour biomarker detectable by “in vivo” fast-field cycling relaxometry (S. Geninatti; Turin /IT)
– The multiple dimensions of state-of-the-art optoacoustic imaging (V. Ntziachristos; Munich/DE)
– EIBIR activities and upcoming funding opportunities (K. Krischak; Vienna/AT)
– Discussion
Image collection: opportunities for succeeding in imaging research
July 15, 14:00-15:00 CEST
– Chairpersons’ introduction (G. Krestin; Rotterdam/NL)
– Magnetic resonance imaging before breast cancer surgery: results of an observational multicenter international prospective analysis (MIPA) (F. Sardanelli; Milan/IT)
– EIBIR Imaging Biobank Catalogue: Find and identify datasets for imaging research (TBD)
– Succeeding in imaging research with help from EIBIR (P. Grodebeke; Vienna/AT)
– Discussion
Big data and artificial intelligence in cancer imaging (Open access)
July 15, 16:00-17:00 CEST
– Chairpersons’ introduction (M. Dewey; Berlin/DE)
– Main aspects on data repositories in cancer imaging (L. Marti-Bonmati; Valencia/ES)
– Building and validating artificial intelligence workflows in cancer imaging (K. Lekadir; Barcelona/ES)
– EIBIR activities and upcoming funding opportunities (P. Gordebeke; Vienna/AT)
– Panel discussion: Can causality be inferred from medical images?
Safety in radiology: advancing medical imaging to the next level with EIBIR support (Open access)
July 16, 10:30-11:30 CEST
– Chairpersons’ introduction (G. Krestin, Rotterdam/NL)
– Alternatives to gadolinium: developing an alternative to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) (R. Katz-Bull; Jersualem/IL)
– Radiation risk appraisal for detrimental effects from radiation exposure during the management of patients with cancer: the SINFONIA project (A. Dasu; Skandion/SE)
– EIBIR activities and upcoming funding opportunities (P. Gordebeke; Vienna/AT)
– Open forum discussion
How to register for open access sessions at the ECR
In order to access the open access sessions please follow the instructions below:
- Visit the session page on ESR Connect and select the session you would like to attend
- Click on ‚Login’ in the upper right corner and enter your ESR MyUserArea credentials or create a new ESR account for free (after you have created your account please visit the session page once again)
- The session is now saved in your user menu under ‘My Courses’ which can be accessed via your user icon in the upper right corner
IHI seeks experts for Science and Innovation Panel
The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) is a new EU funding stream that builds on the experience of the previous Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), the public-private partnership programme for medicines, but has been broadened to include medical technology.
IHI aims to “help create an EU-wide health research and innovation ecosystem that facilitates the translation of scientific knowledge into tangible innovations. These innovations should be safe, effective, people-centred and cost-effective, and cover prevention, diagnostics, treatment and disease management.”
The ESR and EIBIR have worked closely with COCIR to provide input to the development of the funding scheme and potential topics for imaging.
Notably, the first tentative call outlines include topics highly relevant to imaging.
On 24 January 2022, the IHI launched an open call for experts for its new Science and Innovation Panel (SIP). The panel will play an important role in setting IHI’s priorities and designing calls for proposals.
Interested experts who want to apply to be part of the panel in one of these roles should submit an expression of interest by 21 February 2022. For more information, click here
We encourage expert to apply and help guide the initial phase of IHI.
Apply now for the ESR Research Seed Grant 2022
Following the highly successful ESR Seed Grant Initiative in 2020, EIBIR, in collaboration with the European Society of Radiology (ESR), is pleased to invite applications for the ESR Research Seed Grants 2022, which have been kindly supported by an unrestricted, non-exclusive grant from GE Healthcare.
The purpose of this programme is to stimulate and provide funding for innovative projects and pilot studies that will subsequently lead to larger studies and further funding applications.
Project proposals must align with the ESR Research Seed Grants thematic areas. The funding priority 2022 is for research in Artificial Intelligence (including quantitative imaging and radiomics) and Interventional oncologic radiology.
The application deadline is: March 10, 2022 (11:59 am CET).
Learn more.
Euro-BioImaging virtual pub on December 10: COLD in imaging
Euro-BioImaging and the Euro-BioImaging Industry Board are pleased to announce that the next special edition of the Virtual Pub will take place on December 10, 2021. In line with the season, we will focus on the theme of “COLD” in imaging.
We are inviting abstracts for 5 minute Flash talks about any topic related to “COLD” in imaging. Be creative! Possible interpretations of “COLD” include:
- Biology of the cold – from cold receptors and arctic organisms to brain reactions to cold and infections with common cold viruses
- Cold-related metabolism including fat metabolism
- Cold technologies – from cooling and freezing samples to low-temperature and cryo-imaging techniques
- Keeping your sample or equipment cool – from reducing laser output and keeping high-power magnetic coils cool to incubating your sample at controlled low temperatures
- Cold isotopes in molecular imaging
Please submit your abstract by November 22!
Prizes will be awarded to all speakers!
For more information, click the link.
SOLUS end user workshop on its multimodal system for better diagnosis of breast cancer
The SOLUS projects invites everyone to an online end user workshop about its multimodal system for better diagnosis of breast cancer on December 3rd from 14:00 – 18:00 CET.
The workshop will present the project achievements, discussing advances in photonics, the newly developed smart optode and the multimodal SOLUS system for better breast cancer diagnostics.
The EU-funded project SOLUS (Smart Optical and Ultrasound Diagnostics for Breast Cancer) aims at improving the diagnosis of breast cancer through an innovative multimodal imaging system with the ability to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions non-invasively. To achieve that, SOLUS combines ultrasound imaging with diffuse optical tomography, and assessing tissue morphology, stiffness, composition and blood parameters at the same time.
The development of the novel SOLUS system required significant advances in photonics; we‘ve developed a Smart Optode as the key element of the imaging system, but also available a stand-alone device for time-domain multi-wavelength diffuse optics, with potential applications in medical and non-medical fields.
The SOLUS End User Workshop is open to everyone who is interested in breast cancer diagnostics, medical imaging and photonics.
The smart optode‘s potential as an independent photonics device will also be discussed.
You can find a flyer with the full program here.
You can register for the workshop here.
A detailed programme will follow shortly.