Consortium

The University of Twente is a multicultural and international community of 3.813 employees and 12.903 students that provides for: (i) an innovative and vibrant campus with world-class facilities; (ii) an engineering approach to societal challenges, merging fundamental technological and social science research; (iii) Core technologies, among the world’s best, in fields such as nanotechnology, information technology, biomedical technology and technical medicine, behavioural sciences and geo-information science; (iv) highly personal education; (v) an outstanding track record in value creation, starting up and spinning off new businesses (with some 1,000 successful ventures to date). In terms of scientific impact, as analyzed by the 4TU.Federation, the UT receives 40 percent more cites than the world average in its knowledge domains (score 1.4 on indicator MNCS), while 15 percent of the UT publications are part of the 10 percent most publications fields worldwide within their domain. Research ultimately combines scientific excellence with a sharp eye for economic and societal impact: named on the biennial Impact Ranking for the third time as the most entrepreneurial university in the Netherlands, the UT has an outstanding track record in value creation, starting up and spinning off new businesses (with some 1,000 successful ventures to date). Considering the participation in EU funding initiatives, UT researchers have been involved in over 220 FP7 projects and in 199 Horizon2020 projects. Focusing on the MSCA instrument, UT has been involved in 35 ETN projects, 14 PF projects and 6 RISE projects. The Radio Systems (RS) group and the Biomedical Signals and Systems (BSS) group belong to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS). The RS group perform research in antennas, radio propagation, signal processing for communication and radar sensing. The BSS group brings expertise in multidisciplinary daily-life eHealth technology, focusing on solutions for medical challenges and signal/system analysis for improving prevention, diagnosis, treatment in clinical and self-care settings via advanced sensor with broad knowledge on human body.

https://www.utwente.nl/en/eemcs/

https://www.utwente.nl/en/techmed/facilities/htwb-labs/ehealth-house/.

KUL is by far the largest university in Belgium in terms of research funding and expenditure (EUR 532 million in 2019). It is a charter member of the LERU. Since 2015, It has been ranked the first in Thomson Reuters’ list of Europe’s Most Innovative Universities. KUL participated in 657 highly competitive European research projects, ranking fifth with regard to the number of participations in the league of Higher Education (HES) institutions participating in Horizon Europe. KUL is involved in 90 Innovative Training Networks, 12 European Joint Doctorates and 7 European Industrial doctorates. The Electrical Engineering Department (ESAT) at KUL conducts research at a high international level, e.g., more than 9 professors in this department obtained an ERC grant. The WAVECORE division concentrates on telecommunications and microwave research, combining theoretical, implementation, and measurement expertise.

Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) is the largest Italian university in Engineering, Architecture and Design, with 1,600+ faculty members and 48,000 students, and with 7 campuses spread over the Lombardy region. It is organized in 12 departments and 4 schools, respectively devoted to research and education. It has always focused on the quality and innovation of teaching and research, developing a fruitful relationship with the economic and productive reality through experimental research and technology transfer. POLIMI is accredited among the top 20 universities in the world (QS World University Ranking 2023) in each of the 3 subject areas of engineering (#18), architecture (#10) and design (#8).

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) is the largest Italian public research organisation, nation-wide distributed in a network of 100+ Institutes, cross-disciplinary fostering science and innovation. At CNR, 8000+ people are committed to promote, transfer and improve research activities in the main sectors of knowledge and applications for the scientific, technological, economic and social development of the Country. The Institute of Electronics, Computer and Telecommunication Engineering (IEIIT) participating in SMARTTEST DN action carries out advanced scientific and technological research in distributed signal processing, radar technology and radio sensing/vision advanced applications

The University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), is the academic hospital affiliated with Utrecht University. It originated in 1999 from the merger of the academic hospital Utrecht (1872), and the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital (1888). With over 1100 beds and >11000 employees, UMCU is one of the largest academic centres in the Netherlands. UMCU organises six strategic programs, one of which is “Child Health”. We aim at improving and facilitating outpatient care for infants and young children with congenital heart disease (CHD). For this purpose, technology (e.g. ISAC monitoring technology) that gives an impulse to optimal health, growth and development of young children should be considered, adapted and evaluated in clinical and outpatient settings.

VSB – Technical University of Ostrava is a public polytechnical university. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, researchers of the department of Cybernetics and Biomedical Engineering will be involved in the project. This department synergistically develops the fields of cybernetics and biomedical engineering, both in the field of innovative sensors, complex technical solutions and in the field of modern methods of processing and analysing measured signals. The main focus of involved biomedical engineering team is telemedicine, medical devices developments and biosignal processing.

Adant Srl is a high tech SME founded in 2010 with offices in Padova, Italy that together with its subsidiary Adant Technologies Inc designs and manufactures wireless systems primarily for 4G/5G, WiFi, BLE and RFid market. The company has deep expertise in RF and wireless communications with an R&D team composed of ten full time equivalent with deep expertise in radio frequency, electronic and software development and it counts also on cooperation with professors from top EU and US universities.

 The core technology that ADANT develops and commercializes is a wireless system composed of beamsteering antennas, RF front ends and drivers integrated with the wireless communication system to control the antennas and RF front end. Today this system has been embedded in 4G/5G device, WiFi access points, vehicles, dongle devices, M2M devices, RFid products and drones. The company provides also services for the design, manufacturing and joint commercialization of products that require deep expertise with radio frequency and commercialize advanced SW features that take advantage of beamsteering antennas to provide precise localization, motion detection, cybersecurity and others.

Pharrowtech designs and develops millimeter-wave hardware and software for next-generation wireless applications. Pharrowtech have created the first high performance, low-cost carrier grade radio frequency (RF) chip for the Wireless Infrastructure market, delivering the same reliable and robust service as wired alternatives. Pharrowtech’s technology enables high speed internet in urban, suburban and rural locations alike, at a fraction of the roll-out cost and deployment time of fiber. With unmatched performance, Pharrowtech’s solutions also help consumer electronics manufacturers deliver truly immersive wireless VR and AR experiences for the future of home entertainment; and realise the full potential of high speed Internet of Things (IoT) and smart city technology.

TELEVIC is an independent company, founded in 1946 and active in the healthcare market since 1953 as part of Televic Group. TELEVIC designs, creates, builds and manufactures care communication systems including nurse call for the healthcare market (hospitals, nursing homes, service flats). TELEVIC has a R&D staff that encompasses different expertise that are needed to create end-to-end solutions for our customers. TELEVIC’s latest innovation, the AQURA CARE PLATFORM enables critical care communication based on call & location information. This platform combines an easy-to-install (wired and wireless) nurse call system and a room level accurate localization solution with a communication platform able to distribute calls with location information in the care environment. AQURA is offered as one solution to the customer and can integrate seamlessly with the care ecosystem. One of the key challenges is to offer our customers a new wireless but reliable communication infrastructure to carry critical information for alarming, localization and sensing. Therefore we are investigating that embed sensors nodes capable of monitoring the activities and conditions of the patients in a contact free-way.

Remcom Inc. provides innovative electromagnetic simulation software and site-specific wireless propagation software for commercial users and U.S. government sponsors. Remcom’s suite of complementary products work together to provide complete end-to-end design and analysis of complex devices in real world scenarios.  Remcom’s products simplify EM analysis for a wide variety of applications including antenna design and placement, 5G MIMO, outdoor and indoor mmWave planning, mobile device design, biomedical, microwave, automotive radar and more.

The University of Waterloo is a leading institution in the field of education and research, with a robust focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Its mission is to foster a transformative educational environment that encourages continuous learning and the creation of knowledge, alongside an enduring commitment to societal betterment. The University is especially renowned for its cooperative education (co-op) programs, which provide students with invaluable work experience integrated within their academic studies. Through its various faculties including Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics, the University of Waterloo has made significant contributions towards advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and other fields where ICT is integral. Through partnerships with industry and a collaborative approach to research, the University of Waterloo continues to be at the forefront of technology, preparing students and conducting research that addresses the challenges and opportunities of the ever-evolving digital landscape.

GOAL 3 is a purpose driven medical technology startup focused on health care products and services for hospitals in Africa. GOAL 3 consists of a team of complementary experts with a strong focus on and passion for healthcare in Africa. GOAL 3 is enabling and empowering health workers with durable and easy-to-use medical technology at places where it is needed the most. The goal of GOAL 3 is to improve access to care for 100 million people in 2030.

ZGT is a large teaching hospital in the eastern part of Holland, region Twente. ZGT contributes to the health of the people in our region and beyond in the form of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and nursing. ZGT serves approximately 250,000 people a year. ZGT is continuously working on the improvement of and innovation in health care. Concerning its scientific research ZGT acknowledges three research themes being patient empowerment, predictive care, fast and smart diagnostics. Quality assurance of scientific research is a very important element of scientific research and as part of this all principal investigators do have an acknowledged good clinical practice certificate. ZGT is partner of Vitaal Twente to contribute to sustainable implementation of technology supported services to improve the vitality of our inhabitants.

Sentigrate is a data company specialized in processing, modelling and visualizing sensor data. Today, the company is headquartered in Leuven with a wide range of customers from university spin-offs to multinationals. They are active in more than 16 countries and have experience with different types of projects ranging from proof-of-concepts to projects with over 1.5 million sensors. They have a proven track record for integrating and combining multi-parameter sensor data and building machine learning methodologies to extract insights and knowledge in a fast and proactive way. Their goal is to leverage the data into new opportunities. They have partners including Universitaire Ziekenhuizen Leuven, Qualcomm, GE Healthcare.

RDI is the national digital infrastructure inspectorate of the Netherlands, aiming for a safely connected Netherlands. RDI is the implementer and regulator for cyber security, digitally secure equipment, artificial intelligence, telecom security, 5G and frequency management, and more. They have extensive expertise in radio equipment, authorization of frequency use, examination of radio transmission and interferences, as well as the emerging digital technologies.

BENETRONIC is a Czech SME company focused on development and implementation of smart solutions in the applications for disabled and people with chronical diseases. BENETRONIC has more than 10 years’ experience, and develop and manufacture their own smart peripherals that enable disabled people to control computers, wheelchairs, beds and another household equipment. BENETRONIC also provide professional lectures, practices and training on assistive intelligent systems.

Already in 2009, BENETRONIC was the first in the Czech Republic to introduce the concept of INTELLIGENT COMPENSATION AIDs thanks to their own products invented by Petr Uličný. BENETRONIC was also the first to introduce the concept - SMART ASSISTANCE - when just a photo is enough to set up the tools - no need to know instructions or be technically proficient. Time is saved for assistants, caregivers, and health professionals. Now BENETRONIC is coming up with a new socio-technological project that will be presented at the AMPER 2022 exhibition.

TNO is a non-profit organization for applied research with its mission to initiate and support innovations in the ICT industry and other businesses where ICT plays a crucial role, including the automotive industry. TNO has leading-edge expertise in (mobile) network operations and management beyond the 5G and 6G area.

Domovy na Orlici p. o., is a contributory organization of the Hradec Králové region. It manages a home for the elderly in the town of Borohrádek with a capacity of 110 beds and a home for the elderly with Alzheimer's disease in the village of Albrechtice nad Orlicí with a capacity of 81 beds. In our homes, we implement innovative technologies that increase the comfort and safety of our clients.

Catalyze is a Dutch SME specialized in project management and administration for EU-level R&D projects. Catalyze provides consulting services for the life sciences, biotechnology and medical technology. Herein, Catalyze is a market leader in obtaining funding for biomedical and healthcare innovations. The company lowers the thresholds to resources while increasing the chance for success and accelerating R&D. They support societal-changing projects from leading researchers, SME’s and companies. Catalyze aims to secure financing for ambitious R&D projects, from early stage pre-clinical research up to clinical stage development and beyond. Catalyze supports a variety of Life Sciences developments including, but not limited to, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare solutions. Catalyze provides knowledge and specialized services to support researchers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and companies engaged in bringing innovative ideas to the market.

Established in 1636, Utrecht University (UU) has evolved into a leading research university with a growing international reputation. On the 2022 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, UU ranks first in the Netherlands, 13th in Europe and 54th in the world. UU has state-of-the-art research facilities and excellent research training through 7 faculties and related graduate schools.

 The UU Faculty of Medicine and the UMCU work together in the field of (bio)medical education and research. UU is legally linked to UMCU as the PhD degree awarding entity for UMCU-based PhDs. All UMCU PhD programs are part of the UU Graduate School of Life Sciences.

 The UU Board for the Conferral of Doctoral Degrees is responsible for awarding PhD degrees, ~600 yearly. UU currently hosts more than 3000 PhD students.