In September 2024, the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (THD) announced that the European Union had approved the research project ERMES. The Bavarian partners are THD, the University of Regensburg and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU); at THD, Prof. Dr. med. Thiha Aung leads the project.
The name stands for “Information transfer between medical doctors and implanted medical devices via synthetic molecular communication”. The project deals with active implants such as pacemakers or defibrillators. They work independently inside the body and have to send data to the outside so that they can be controlled and monitored. The previous transmission routes through the body are only suitable for this to a limited extent. ERMES is to develop new communication and sensor systems.
The aim is better care for patients. As possible applications, Prof. Dr. Aung names the treatment of tumors and chronic diseases and the monitoring of health status via biomarkers, that is, certain molecules in the body.
The EU is funding ERMES for 36 months with €3.7 million from the Horizon Europe program (European Innovation Council Pathfinder Open). Alongside Prof. Dr. Aung, Prof. Dr. Silke Härteis (University of Regensburg) and Dr. Max Schäfer (FAU) lead the Bavarian parts. The project is coordinated by the University of Catania in Italy, with partners from Finland and France and four companies.
Read more in the press release from the Deggendorf Institute of Technology (in German).
