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Apr 1, 2022

INKplant opens its expertise to external users for developing next-generation implants

INKplant

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INKplant opens its expertise to external users for developing next-generation implants

INKplant

Apr 1, 2022

INKplant’s consortium launches its Open Innovation Program, which first call starts today, to create the first European virtual community for promoting open science and open innovation in the tissue engineering and biofabrication fields.

Innovative materials, technologies and resources, aimed at transforming healthcare, should be researched, developed and applied following user centered approaches, involving healthcare professionals, patients and their associations, scientists and technology developers. With this in mind, INKplant’s partners invite society, healthcare professionals, and potential collaborators to use INKplant’s expertise and technologies through a series of periodic calls and focus group workshops. 

Participation conditions

The resources, technologies and materials, developed by INKplant’s consortium (and described in “INKplant’s technological portfolio”, will be freely available to external users, through periodic open calls announced in INKplant’s website and social media, for fostering research, development and innovation in the tissue engineering and biofabrication fields. Such access will be granted according to the following users’ guidelines and conditions: 

1. Access to INKplant’s expertise and resources will be asked by submission of the experimental template for open science & innovation calls, in which the aims and potentials of the proposed study and the need for INKplant’s support will be described. Proposals will be treated confidentially and will be evaluated by an independent international board. Experiments considered feasible and relevant will be selected according to open call’s conditions.  

2. Access to INKplant’s expertise and resources is free of charge but the obtained results will be reported and jointly published in high impact open access journals and presented in conferences, with external users and involving INKplant’s partners as co-authors. Acknowledgement to the EU Commission’s H2020 INKplant project (GA nº953134) is required in dissemination and communication actions. The use of special materials may involve some operational costs.

3. INKplant’s participation in the external proposals is limited to design, simulation and manufacturing tasks, from a conceptual idea, up to a printed prototype for preliminary validation of the idea through in vitro studies. External users will be responsible for obtaining the needed permissions, for complying with ethical and legal requirements and for fulfilling GDPR, in case patients’ information is used as input. No studies in animals or humans will be carried through INKplant’s open calls. INKplant is not responsible for the in vitro testing of the manufactured prototypes, which should be managed by users according to the EU's legal and regulatory framework.

Submission procedures and dates

1. Submission of proposed experiment described using 'INKplant’s template for open innovation calls'. April 1st, 2022 – June 30th, 2022.

2. Evaluation, after eventual gathering of additional information, and communication of decision to participants. July 1st, 2022 – July 31st, 2022.

3. Development of the project, including design, simulation, prototyping and testing, in collaboration between proponents and INKplant’s partners. August 1st, 2022 – December 15th, 2022.

4. Reporting of results, preparation of joint publications. December  15th, 2022 – January 31st, 2023.

Important resources

INKplant’s technological portfolio (.pdf)

• INKplant’s template for open innovation calls (.doc)

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation board will be formed by 5 members of INKplant’s consortium (INKplant’s open innovation board) and by 5 members of INKplant’s External Advisory Board. The evaluation will consider the following aspects, each one being scored with a maximum value of 2 points:

1. Relevance of medical need addressed

2. Degree of innovation

3. Utility of INKplant’s technologies

4. Technical viability

5. Ethical, legal and social aspects

Contact

Sandra Haas

Andrés Díaz Lantada

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