Ana Benedicto is an Environmental Science graduate and doctor in chemistry, and she works at present as a standardization project manager at UNE. She has accumulated over one decade of experience as a researcher in different research centres across Europe, and now she is proud to dedicate her efforts to contribute to the success of research and innovation activities, facilitating the market uptake of the results by integrating standardization in projects.

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Could you describe the main tasks that UNE is working on within INKplant?

The main objective of UNE in INKplant is to facilitate the acceptance and utilisation by the market of the developed solutions, as the role of standardisation is to link innovation with markets. With this aim, UNE supports INKplant partners in transferring their new solutions into new standards that generate confidence in customers and users and facilitate their implementation by the European industry.

UNE also supports the researchers to ensure that the development of novel processes and products will build upon existing standards ensuring compatibility and interoperability with established practices but also increasing transparency and trust for prospective customers.

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How do you see the role of 3D printing in the medical industry, and what other medical technologies are there that you are excited about?

The 3D printing technique applied to surgical implant manufacturing opens a wide range of cutting-edge alternatives in personalized medicine that pass through, facing technical and regulation challenges by means of a multidisciplinary approach.

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What would you say have been UNE's best achievements within INKplant?

So far, the INKplant consortium has gained full knowledge of the standardization landscape related to personalized medicine and 3D printing in the medical industry, identifying the main standards and standardization technical committees relevant to the INKplant Project. That has served as a base to connect INKplant with the standardization community and to identify the needs of INKplant contribution to the on-going and future standardization.

In this sense, results are promising as the INKplant consortium is taking the first steps to develop new standards, CEN Workshop Agreements, about the processes for ink-based mono- multi-material fabrication of additively manufactured implants.

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Processes for ink-based mono- multi-material fabrication of additive manufactured implants:

A very relevant INKplant contribution to standardization will be the publication of 3 standards, CEN Workshop Agreements, in the field of 3D printed implants, but also the participation of the INKplant experts in the ISO Joint Working Group JWG1 "Additive manufacturing in surgical implant applications”,  within the ISO technical committees ISO/TC 150 Implants for surgery and ISO/TC 261 Additive manufacturing.

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What are some of the challenges that UNE faces in the field of regenerative medicine and innovation ecosystem in Europe?

Standards close the gap between research and market acceptance. New standards for methods, tests, technologies, products or materials from the innovation in the field of regenerative medicine and 3D printing will be key factors for generating confidence in customers and users, promoting their use, compatibility and integration with other developments, facilitating their acceptance by the industry and public authorities.