Smart vascular prostheses recognised with innovation award
Three i3S researchers — Ana Mendes, Andreia Pereira, and Sofia Rocha — were awarded the "3D Strategic Innovation of Biomaterials Applied to Health and the Medical Device Industry" prize by biomedical engineering firm i+Med Cooperative of Scientists. The €300 award recognised oral presentations delivered at the 47th International Congress of the Iberian Society of Biomechanics and Biomaterials.
The award-winning work explores different strategies for harnessing blood flow as a source of electrical energy, with the potential to power electronic cardiac devices such as pacemakers. The researchers are developing smart vascular prostheses capable of issuing early warnings when signs of dysfunction appear, such as changes in blood flow or risk of blockage. This would enable more timely interventions and reduce the risk of serious complications.
According to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), cardiovascular diseases caused approximately 19.8 million deaths in 2022, underscoring the need for innovative solutions in this field. "It is precisely this challenge that drives the focus on smart vascular prostheses with early fault-detection capabilities," say the researchers from the i3S Advanced Graphene Biomaterials group, led by Inês Gonçalves. In the case of vascular prostheses, they add, the failure rate in the first year can reach around 40 per cent, highlighting the importance of monitoring systems that can prevent critical events and enable early intervention.
The award-winning presentations draw on results obtained over the past three years through the Blood2Power project, funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC), and the Blood4Energy project, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), coordinated by Inês Gonçalves and Andreia Pereira, respectively.
For the team, the award represents "external validation from industry," highlighting the translational potential of these solutions for clinical practice and the medical device sector.
The work also includes contributions from other i3S researchers, including Catarina Almeida, first author of one of the studies, as well as collaborators from the Institute of Physics of Advanced Materials, Nanotechnology and Photonics (IFIMUP) and the Medical University of Vienna.
