From the ERC Start projecting Grant RESHAPE by Di Pino the cutting-edge prototype
August 5th, 2020 - It is these days the news that the project STIMBOY by prof. Giovanni Di Pino, Head of the Neurophysiology and Neuro Research UnitingEngineering of Human-Technology Interaction (NeXTlab) UCBM, was among the only five winning projects of Italian universities and institutions in the last one call Proof of Concept, section of the European Research Council which finances the path towards the commercial exploitation of ideas and technologies born within previously funded ERC projects. Among these indeed RESHAPE, which had won the ERC-start tendering grant in 2015 with the aim of improving the perception of the hand prosthesis for amputees by making it as natural as possible.
Specific goal of STIMBOY is to develop a robot capable of carrying out transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) autonomously. A tool used for non-invasive brain stimulation, TMS can be used both in research and in the clinic, for example in the treatment of depression, chronic pain, post-stroke rehabilitation and dementia. So far, the high specialization required to control TMS, the continuous need for the presence of an expert, the low spatial resolution and the costs have significantly limited the impact of transcranial magnetic stimulation on research and its therapeutic diffusion.
Within the project RESHAPE a first prototype of an automated robotic TMS stimulator has been assembled. STIMBOY will improve an already developed robot-TMS to meet the need for automation and extreme ease of use of the clinical end user, together with the need for precision and flexibility for the researcher. The project also aims to demonstrate the commercial viability of the technology by planning its path to market.
Compared to the few existing devices on the market, it will have smaller dimensions and weight, automatic neuronavigation implemented by the robot itself, a larger work space, the possibility of performing double protocols coil, increased safety and innovative control features and better performance/cost ratio. STIMBOY will make TMS therapy simpler and cheaper, therefore available to more citizens and will stimulate neuroscience and future therapeutic applications.
An ambitious project that came to the end of a very fruitful season for the NeXTlab, which thanks to the work of prof. Giovanni Di Pino, responsible, and the prof. Domenico Formica, co-responsible, has managed to attract around 4 million euros from competitive tenders alone in the few years since its formation.