Feb 17 2010
A research project on the application of nanotechnological methods in arthritis research is being carried out by the Europäische Akademie. This project is subsidized by the European Union, and its consortium consists of 15 European partners from university and non-university institutions. During the next four years a budget of about nine million Euros will be provided.
Rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis are widely spread diseases causing severe morbidity and mortality. However, up to now there are neither sufficient diagnostic methods to detect the disease at an early stage nor satisfactory procedures to assess the success of alternative treatment strategies. In order to promote research in this field, the European Commission supports the interdisciplinary consortium “Development of Novel Nanotechnology Based Diagnosed Systems for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis (NanoDiaRA)”.
The main objective of this project is to develop novel diagnostic methods for the simple and early detection of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. To achieve this aim, modified super paramagnetic nanoparticles are to be used.
The coordinator of the NanoDiaRA project is the Europäische Akademie – supported by MatSearch Consulting Hofmann (Switzerland). Furthermore, the Europäische Akademie is leading a work package on ethical aspects of using nanotechnology in medicine.
The following international partners are involved:
ANAMAR Medical AB (Sweden)
Arrayon Biotechnology (Switzerland)
Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique SA (Switzerland), Microfluidics & Microhandling
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany), Rheumatology Clinic
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), Institute of Materials
MatSearch Consulting Hofmann (Switzerland)
Merck Chimie – Estapor Microspheres Division (France)
Merck Serono (Switzerland), Strategic Innovation & Research & Portfolio Management
Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität Salzburg (Austria), Institute of Anatomy & Musculoskeletal Research
University of Fribourg (Switzerland), Department of Chemistry
University of Geneva (Switzerland), Cell Physiology and Metabolism
University of Lund (Sweden), Department Experimental Medical Science
University of Nimwegen (Netherlands), Rheumatology
University of Tartu (Estonia), Internal Medicine Faculty of Medicine