SATT Ile-de-France Innov is a private Technology Transfer organisation ‘with exclusive rights to detect, seed-fund and commercialise technology stemming from academic research centres across the Paris metropolitan area’ (www.idfinnov.com) It is one of 14 SATTs (Sociétés d’Accélération du Transfert de Technologies) created by the French Government and invests over 6M€ per year to finance proof of concepts and prototyping projects on carefully selected innovations in healthcare, IT and other areas including humanities and social sciences (with applications in serious gaming, teaching and the arts). They are committed to facilitating public-private partnering and start-up creation.
EHFF was introduced to Dr Robert Marino, Business Unit Director through Tram Nguyen Trinh of VITAnLINK, after they had met in Barcelona at the ECHAlliance event during the GMSA Global Mobile conference (see news item Mar. 23). The prime purpose of this workshop was to showcase half a dozen Medtech projects at an early stage of development, to get from EHFF and a representative of EPPOSI, initial reactions looking at developments from the point of potential patient/citizen involvement.
Presentations included one on early learning in preterm babies (babylearn) with possible motor and cognitive dysfunction, geared to reducing the likelihood of learning and behavioural difficulties in the early school years. The electronic tool allows enhanced learning for infants aged as young as 3/5 months, and seems fairly unique. Another was a device for improving post stroke finger mobility, a joint venture between idfinnov, university paris descartes and sensix.fr. This device, apart from measuring and improving finger dexterity after stroke is now being used as a possible biomarker for disease state in schizophrenia and to track hand function in rheumatological disorders (see J.Neuroeng. Rehabil. Aug.2015). Finally, there was a presentation from Prof Lissourges, head of the energy, health and environment department of the Paris engineering school ESIEE on their courses and Incubator activities in biotech and eHealth.