Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a tool to stimulate non-invasively the brain, employed in Research and Clinics (e.g. depression, chronic pain, stroke, dementia, etc). Low spatial resolution, time-consuming rigid protocol and the continuous need of the presence of an expert has dramatically contained TMS research impact and therapeutic diffusion. STIMBOY project objectives are: 1) improve the robot-TMS developed within the ERC RESHAPE project to realize a TMS-droid (STIMBOY) that fulfills the need of automatization and extreme easiness-of-use of non-expert TMS clinical end-user (clinical configuration), and the need of precision and flexibility of TMS scientist (research configuration); 2) show the commercial feasibility of the technology (from the perspective of a cost-benefit analysis through health economics), 3) design a route to market for the technology (including market analysis and competitive landscape), 4) strengthen the IP position, 5) investigate the likely regulatory roadmap and 6) draft an exploitation plan consolidated in a business plan. Robotic TMS research (e.g. >1100 TMS papers/year indexed by PubMed) and therapeutic market-size (2.5 billion € only for drug-resistant depression) is not covered by the few commercial devices, upon which STIMBOY will have several advantages: lower size and weight, automatic neuronavigation implemented by the robot itself, wider workspace, the possibility to perform double-coil protocols, higher safety due to torque sensors embedded in each joint and innovative features of the control algorithm, higher camera frequency and better performance/cost ratio. The project is implemented by the same multidisciplinary team that developed the ERC RESHAPE robot-TMS, with the help of a consultant for exploitation. STIMBOY will make TMS therapy easier and cheaper, thus available to more citizens and will prompt neuroscience knowledge and future therapeutic applications, favoring the society as a whole.

Amputation distorts the body representation, a fundamental aspect of self-consciousness. Hand prostheses counteract sensorimotor impairment, but poor attention has been posed to target the alteration of body-image. RESHAPE aims to study prosthesis embodiment, identify what makes a hand prosthesis easily embodiable, and test non-invasive brain stimulation to facilitate the embodiment. Amputees claim to perceive prostheses as tools; RESHAPE enables amputees to project their self into the prosthesis, improving in parallel their dexterity. The first of three phases develops the enabling technology and defines the embodiment protocol. The following phase evaluates thirty myoelectric-prosthesis users and the first of two amputees implanted with peripheral neural electrodes, for functional ability, prosthesis embodiment and acceptability and for phantom limb pain (PLP), before and after neuromodulation. In the last phase, a neuro-controlled prosthesis is optimized in line with the specifications defined in the previous phase and tested in the second implanted amputee. An embodiment and a sensory/manipulation platform, integrating a discrimination setup with sensorized wearable systems, induce and weigh the embodiment and its impact on prosthesis performance. Embodiment neural correlates are investigated with EEG and fMRI-based techniques, thanks to a prosthesis virtual model controllable inside the scanner. Patients are stimulated with a homeostatic plasticity-based rTMS either on premotor cortex or on intraparietal sulcus. A robot-aided TMS compensates head-coil relative displacement, allowing the subject to operate the prosthesis during the stimulation. RESHAPE is a paradigm shift in Prosthetics. It offers the guidelines for highly-embodiable prostheses, four technological platforms beyond the state-of-the-art, novel insights on how tools shape the body-image, the proof of a TMS-induced embodiment and a new strategy to readdress amputees’ aberrant plasticity and PLP.

The MiGEM proposal targets one of the remaining grand challenges in biomechanics: the development of a comprehensive, inter-scale, thermodynamically and energetically coherent multiphysics model of gastrointestinal (GI) motility. Despite the importance of gastrointestinal disorders as a primary global health problem, electromechanical modelling of gastrointestinal motility still presents significant theoretical and experimental limitations compared to more advanced fields such as cardiovascular bioengineering. Technical difficulties exist due to the intrinsic multiscale nature of gastrointestinal tissues, the coupling of multiple cell types and roles, and the combination of electrical and mechanical phenomena involving different energetic mechanisms. MiGEM has the potential to unlock new frontiers in GI research, addressing several state-of-the-art problems in gastrointestinal motility and opening unprecedented opportunities in novel subject-specific therapies. By adopting a rigorous theoretical-experimental scientific approach, MiGEM will advance state-of-the-art gastrointestinal theoretical modelling and experimental measurements, unveiling fundamental energetic mechanisms that govern stomach and intestine motility in health and disease. MiGEM will enable the first calorimetric measurement of tissue sample from the GI tract and create a new path in biomechanical modelling by assimilating innovative data into multiscale thermodynamic models. The project will create a new network of scientists with complementary experimental and modelling skills, fostering cross-fertilization, providing senior-to-junior methodological transfer, and supporting gender balance. The scientific experience of the PI, the formal membership to the project of the ABI, University of Auckland, and the multiple scientific collaborations that the PI has engaged for many years will be the key elements to successfully carry out an ambitious and high-risk project.

An artificial third arm that assists my actions with little cognitive effort and that can seamlessly be controlled concurrently and independently to my natural arms is a popular phantasm in science fiction. If to come true, however, this vision would revolutionise human life by enabling people to accomplish tasks that are sheer impossible with their natural limbs alone. Surgeons could become able to control additional surgical devices, a computer mouse commanded simultaneously to my fingers would enable me to operate a maps application on my phone while dragging my luggage, etc. The NIMA project follows a concrete and novel concept to make this vision a reality, by exploiting the redundancy of the motor system on different levels for controlling additional degrees-of-freedom of supernumerary limbs, devices or computers independently from movements of the natural limbs. We have formed a team of leading experts in neuroscience, neurotechnology, human-machine interfaces, robotics, and ethics, to accomplish the following objectives: 1) Pushing the borders of technology by creating non-invasive interfaces with multimodal sensory feedback that will allow effortless control of multiple limbs or objects, as well as a wearable supernumerary robotic limb. 2) Understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying movement augmentation, how it can be functionally embodied and how this can be facilitated by multimodal feedback, by combining neuromodulation, computational modelling and behavioural experiments. 3) Applying movement augmentation to extend human capacities and preparing the ground for exploitation, using three relevant testbeds: i) manipulation with a wearable supernumerary robotic arm and the two hands, ii) assistance in surgical manipulation to extend surgeon capabilities and autonomy, iii) 3-hands computer interface. 4) Evaluating the ethical and safety aspects of movement augmentation.

WIN-WITH-U project aims to improve the inclusion of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in the working system, by raising awareness of firms about the issue through the provision of targeted training and by supporting people with ASD in their process toward employment. A main goal is to spread a culture and a practice for the implementation of inclusion systems for workers with ASD , based on the enhancement and valorization of their abilities. People with autism tend to be comfortable in workplaces when rules, routines and schedules are adhered to, and can become uncomfortable or distressed when they are broken, disrupted or changed by employers. These aspects derive from their symptoms as impairments in social interaction/communication, restricted interests and repetitive behaviour. They put them at a disadvantage in the European increasingly communication-oriented and service-economy job market. Autism is a state covering a wide range of conditions that reflect neurological differences among people, and creating barriers that affect their lives at work especially because some of them do not speak. However, experts assert that autism is not just or always a disability, it is a difference, and it can have positive aspects often overlooked. As showed by several empirical contributions, most of the people affected by these disorders possess distinctive skills concerning audiovisual memory, computing capability, analysis of repetitive actions and have greater potential than other workers in specific fields requiring great attention to details, accuracy, consistency, routine tasks. These characteristics make them able to provide great value added in methodical and technical fields of application. The basic principle of WIN-WITH-U project is to turn special characteristics of people with autism to better account, not only to break the entry barriers to the working world but also to consider them as a basis to build the firm competitive advantage. Firms involved in many industries like for example ICT sector (systems management, software testing, or computer science), if correctly trained about features and abilities of young people with ASD, can valorize them, giving new opportunities of employment. WIN-WITH-U will develop an innovative and open training approach, including two learning paths, several advanced tools and will be focused on specific target groups: people with ASD and entrepreneurs/managers who want to improve their knowledge on ASD. WIN-WHIT-U Project will deliver: O1-Learning Methodology document focused on the target groups of the project to improve the inclusion of young people with ADS; O2-The WIN-WITH-U Resources Integrated Area O3-A set of learning modules composed of thematic presentations, reading materials, engaging exercises and examples of best practices.All WIN-WITH-U materials and tools will be available on the e-learning platform. WIN-WITH-U training package will be delivered in 5 languages of the project consortium (BG, EN, IT, DK and FR).The project will provide, in particular, two different and specialized learning paths:1) the first learning programme aims to enable young individuals with ASD to successfully enter the working world by providing access to good jobs and supporting them to understand a workplace. It will provide online training, in 5 languages, on different sectors, including ICT and soft skills, environmental and behavioural aspects usually needed in a company. It will include also multimedia tutorials correctly adapted and customized to the specific needs of people with ASD. 2) the second training path gives a set of information to employers and employees and addresses human resources management topics with a focus on workers with ASD. Specific learning materials and online training about autism topic will be provided to advise them how to support young people with ASD securing the adjustments they may need for time management/organization and prioritization, communication/speaking, social interactions, workloads management, etc.The online training activity will involve a large number of young people with ASD (4000) and entrepreneurs/managers and their teams (4000) coming from the Partners' countries. Methodology and tools will be arranged considering the specific learning characteristics of the target group. The expected impact of the project is a change in the system so that the involvement of workers with ASD will be not left to the spontaneous initiative of a few positive companies, but it will become a praxis incentivized by training activities able to help firms to catch opportunities and advantages as well as to manage issues in a simple way. The long term benefit is to increase the number of autism-friendly organizations, engaged in this relevant corporate social responsibility initiative.