Our research impact: engineering for health
Engineering for health looks ahead to an era in which medicine becomes more accurate and accessible, transforming the way we think about health and access to care. Artificial intelligence, integrated into medical diagnostics, will enable early detection of disease, improving treatment success rates. Personal genomics offers personalised therapies, targeting the specific causes of disease. Telemedicine facilitates global access to care, breaking down geographical barriers. Connected objects and intelligent medical devices monitor people's health in real time. Virtual care and remote interventions are becoming commonplace, offering unprecedented flexibility.
At Centrale Nantes, several research teams are working on these issues in collaboration with the research teams at Nantes University Hospital.
Flagship projects
MILCOM
With funding from the Connect Talent call for projects in the Pays de la Loire Region, Nantes Métropole and the ERDF, the MILCOM project combines data sciences and health, and focuses on the application of machine learning to analyse multimodal medical images for the validation and identification of biomarkers in oncology.
Bio-fabrication Research Chair
Given the current shortage of donors, scientists are devising new solutions to meet the need, particularly in the context of reconstruction after trauma or cancer surgery. The solution envisaged by researchers at the Research Institute in Civil and Mechanical Engineering (GeM) at Centrale Nantes involves manufacturing living tissues, such as vital tissues and organs, using 3D printing: bioprinting.
Read on to discover some of the different ways Centrale Nantes research is contributing to meeting the challenges of future health.
- NAO & Rob'autismeJanuary 28, 2016Rob'autisme is the story of unprecedented experimental interaction between a robot and children with autism spectrum disorder. Centrale Nantes has developed a unique partnership with the Samothrace Psychotherapy Centre, CHU( Nantes University Hospital), Stereolux, Robots! Association to answer this question: can a humanoid robot be a mediation support in autism therapy?
BIOREGOS 2: Elastomers and human tissueFebruary 8, 2016Centrale Nantes researchers Erwan Verron and Bertrand Huneau, both from the MPTC team (Materials, Processes and Composite Technology) of the Research Institute of Civil Engineering and Mechanics, enjoy a successful collaboration on the behaviour of elastomers (rubber). The former focuses on modelling the behaviour of these materials whilst the latter’s interest lies in developing innovative experiments.- Impact Tumors: improving brain cancer screeningFebruary 10, 2016At the end of 2015, Centrale Nantes and INSERM Bordeaux (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) alongside other partners such as the project pilot Bull, began their collaboration on the 3-year ‘Impact Tumors’ project within the Bpifrance framework.
Helping stroke patients to recoverFebruary 10, 2016Centrale Nantes researchers, in collaboration with Nantes University Hospital, are contributing to efforts to improve the rehabilitation of stroke patients.
3D-Surg Project: The operating theatre of the futureFebruary 11, 2016Centrale Nantes continues its involvement in the health sector through several research projects including the national project 3D-Surg (2015-2020).
Bioinformatics: research on multiple myeloma – a cancer that starts in the bone marrowFebruary 24, 2016Centrale Nantes has been involved in health for many years. MeForBio, a research team specialising in bioinformatics, is undertaking research together with the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) to find out more about multiple myeloma, a cancer that starts in the bone marrow.
Bioinformatics: Jetlag? Rotational shift work? Research on the circadian clockFebruary 24, 2016Centrale Nantes has been involved in health for many years now. MeForBio, a research team specialising in bioinformatics, is undertaking research, together with a team of biologists from the University of Nice, on mammalian responses to circadian disruptions.
MRI quantif: The MRI of the futureFebruary 24, 2016The ‘MRI quantif’ project brings together researchers from Centrale Nantes - David Le Touzé (fluid mechanics, H2I research group of the LHEEA laboratory), Jérôme Idier and Saïd Moussaoui (signal processing, ADTSI research group of the IRCCyN laboratory) – and researchers from the Institut du Thorax, Nantes University Hospital - Jean-Michel Serfaty (radiology, MRI), Perrine Paul-Gilloteaux (signal processing) and Hubert Desal (radiology, MRI).
Bioprinting: science fiction is rapidly becoming science factMarch 10, 2016Additive manufacturing, which first appeared at Centrale Nantes around twenty years ago, has gradually turned towards medicine with the advent of bioprinting.
Health - a myocontrolled bionic handMay 25, 2016IRCCyN researchers are currently working on a robotic hand that is controlled naturally by the brain. (IRCCyN - Communication and Cybernetics Research Institute of Nantes, involving Nantes University – Centrale Nantes – the National Centre for Scientific Research - Mines Nantes).- Type 1 Diabetes: towards an artificial pancreas, made in NantesMay 26, 2016Type 1 diabetes affects 200 000 people in France today. Research is focusing on an artificial pancreas to bring them some relief on a daily basis and simplify the administering of medicine. Researchers at Centrale Nantes have been working on the subject for several years and are today advocating Nantes’ version of the artificial pancreas, based on ease of use for patients and doctors alike.
- Franco-Japanese collaboration on bio-informatics at Centrale NantesSeptember 26, 2019Given the geographical distance, the language barrier and the predominance of American-European perspectives, research advances in Asia can be little-known on our shores. The objective of scientific exchanges between Centrale Nantes, the National Institute of Informatics (NII Tokyo) and the University of Kobe in Japan seek to promote exchanges between young researchers – especially in the fields of bioinformatics and artificial intelligence.
- Dr Luciano Vidal joins Centrale Nantes to work on 3D printing and bioprintingMarch 24, 2020Dr Luciano Vidal to work alongside Professor Jean-Yves Hascoët at Centrale Nantes on 3D printing and bio printing.
- Diana Mateus - MILCOM ProjectJune 28, 2021The MILCOM project combines data sciences and health, and focuses on the application of machine learning to analyse multimodal medical images for the validation and identification of biomarkers in oncology.
