Since the beginning of 2024, Instituto Superior Técnico and five international higher education institutions have formed the BioMembrOS (Biomimetic Membranes for Organ Support) project. This project, funded by the European Union under the Pathfinder programme, aims to develop membranes that optimise the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, in order to improve the effectiveness of medical equipment used for assisting patients with breathing, while also reducing the drawbacks of the technology currently used in medical settings.
‘We propose synthesising and developing more efficient membranes’, explains Maria Norberta Pinho, a retired professor at Técnico and co-coordinator of the Técnico team working on this project, along with Pedro Brogueira, a professor at Técnico. ‘Birds have a much more efficient respiratory system than humans,’ she emphasised, pointing out that the word “biomimetic” in the project’s name comes from the inspiration behind the development of these new membranes – the respiratory structures of birds and fish. With zoologists on the team, the institutions involved in BioMembrOS will use the efficiency observed on these surfaces to design the membranes that will be produced, with a special focus on the functioning of the lungs.
The Técnico team is composed of Maria Norberta Pinho, Pedro Brogueira and Mónica Faria from the Center of Physics and Engineering of Advanced Materials (CeFEMA); Ana Clara Marques and Moisés Pinto from the Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente (CERENA); Susana Vinga from the Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Investigação e Desenvolvimento (INESC ID); and Viriato Semião from the Mechanical Engineering Institute (IDMEC).
Maria Norberta Pinho describes the Pathfinder programme as one that focuses on ‘risky’ projects, which involve far-reaching, long-term ideas, without the immediate need for commercialisation. ‘The philosophy of this version of Pathfinder is to move forward with disruptive ideas, conducting research at all stages where there is a risk, with the possibility of changing direction if it is concluded that the technology won’t be feasible,’ she explains.
The BioMembrOS partners have met at Técnico on 20 and 21 June, to continue their work. The meeting was attended by members of the TU Wien, the Medical University of Vienna, the University of Bologna (Italy), the Technical University of Aachen (Germany) and the University of Johannesburg (South Africa). The project, which is planned to last 42 months, had its kick-off meeting in January 2024, at the Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien in Vienna, Austria), which is coordinating the initiative.
