Research, in order to advance and fuel innovation, needs technological innovation itself. The EU-funded project B2B is doing research for researchers, to bring recent advances in fluidic systems and 3D printing to the biomedical sector.
“When a new technology reaches the biomedical field, all eyes are on the technology and its advantages – but to have a successful uptake, the technology should solve problems that matter to the end-users, namely the researchers.” explains Silvia Scaglione, the B2B coordinator. Silvia is well familiar with the problem as, during her PhD in Bioengineering and Bioelectronics, she worked side by side with cell biologists, biotechnologists and medical doctors. “In such a multidisciplinary environment, I got to know the frustrations and difficulties that the biomed researchers have to face day by day, and, as a bioengineer, I wanted to develop a technology that responded to their needs. That’s the idea that inspired B2B”.
Indeed, in cancer research, scientists are missing reliable cancer models to advance research. The general discontent is related to the faults of available models, unable to capture the complexity of the human disease (more here). B2B is developing a breakthrough in vitro alternative that is more clinically relevant than tumour spheroids and closer to the human physiology than animal models. In the B2B multidisciplinary team, scientists involved in cancer research work side by side with engineers and material scientists to develop an ad hoc technology that will simplify and enhance their research (more here).