ITI Researchers submit proposals for “Research 4 COVID-19” FCT funding

FCT, in collaboration with the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation, has recently opened a call for proposals Research 4 COVID-19 with the purpose to fund short R&D projects and initiatives, for a period of up to three months, and a budget limit of 30K€, to assist immediately the National Service of Health, Health Care institutions, develop prevention tools and ongoing initiatives.

The call, which deadline was April 5, was meant mainly to complement ongoing initiatives and to support the reorientation of existing teams.

ITI/LARSyS researchers submitted three different proposals through ARDITI which were 1) “Plataforma Web-interativa: Toolbox Estudante Universitário – SOS Saúde Psicológica” by Luísa Soares, 2) “AppCovidMadeira” whose coordinator is Bruna Gouveia, and finally 3) “Design for Covid” by Frederica Gonçalves.

1) “Plataforma Web-interativa: Toolbox Estudante Universitário – SOS Saúde Psicológica”  is project proposal coordinated by Luísa Soares. It is aimed at university students in Portugal and aims to prevent and promote mental health, helping to create a more resilient community, capable of overcoming adversity. Through the use of a web-interactive platform, psychoeducational content and exercise plans will be made available, empirically supported, in terms of mental health. The project is based on a pilot version, developed and tested in 2018-2020.

2) “AppCovidMadeira” aims to develop an Android/iOS application as a means of facilitating communication and monitoring of patients by health authorities. It will be developed by ITI / LARSyS members in partnership with the Institute of Health Administration, IP-RAM; RAM Health Service; Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva; IST; Faculty of Human Motricity and Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon. The team is composed of 13 elements, of which 5 are ITI members, Bruna Gouveia, Élvio Gouveia, Frederica Gonçalves, Pedro Campos, and Nuno Nunes. The project will allow having streamlined communication and monitorization of COVID-19 patients; access to more information about patients in real-time, regarding symptoms, vital signs, and psychological status; development of a database with longitudinal information, with a view to characterizing and prospecting the disease;  activity plans for motor and cognitive stimulation, and providing an additional communication resource with specific recommendations.

3) The project “Design for COVID 19”  also has a team consisting of 13 elements, 6 of them being from ITI/LARSyS – Frederica Gonçalves, Bruna Gouveia, Élvio Gouveia, Pedro Campos, Shujoy Chakraborty, and Nuno Nunes. The proposal, to be developed in partnership with UMa, IASAÚDE, IP-RAM, and SESARAM, focuses on the creation of open and freely accessible 3D models, tested and validated by a medical team, which can subsequently be patented maintaining open access and free code.

Successfully funded projects to be announced soon by FCT.