ABOUT
01
EU-funded project
PARENT is an EU-funded project that envisions a multidisciplinary approach to challenge early diagnosis of newborn motor/cognitive impairments. It is part of the European Innovative Training Networks programme, in the form of collaborative European Training Network (a competitively selected joint research training and doctoral programme).
02
Multidisciplinary network
PARENT combines the efforts of a multidisciplinary network of leading European research groups, industry partners, paediatric hospitals and parent’s associations to develop a technological infrastructure that will train Early Stage Researchers (ESR) to conduct top-notch research in leading academic institutions, hospitals and industry R&D divisions. During the research there will be strong emphasis on career development and on achieving impact.
03
Multidisciplinary approach and technologies
PARENT multidisciplinary approach and technologies will make a critical contribution towards an open neurodevelopmental disease diagnostic software infrastructure by interlinking disciplines from clinical data, neuroimaging collection and processing, biomarkers, data fusion, machine learning applied to clinical data, novel prediction algorithms.
04
Precision medicine
PARENT approach can be included in the more general paradigm of evidence-based medicine, precision medicine and patient center-care, as well as decision support systems in clinical field.
OBJECTIVE
Prematurity exponentially increases the risk for an altered neurodevelopmental outcomes in childhood and adolescence. Many survivors children, face a lifetime of disability. Despite the advances in neonatal care have greatly improved survival of preterm born infants even at extremely low gestational ages we are now at a period of steadiness where no further improvement in long-term neurodevelopmental outcome is seen. The impact of these sequelae affects not only at a personal and familiar level but also poses a significant burden on society. Early diagnostics of brain injury and/or brain dysmaturation as well as early detection of impairments are important strategies to improve the well-being of children and their families allowing for developmental monitoring and medical evaluation of the specific type of disorder that affects a child and optimize therapeutics options.
In this context, PARENT is a vision for a multidisciplinary approach to develop diagnostic and predictive platforms focused on newborn motor/cognitive impairments.
PARENT will make a critical contribution towards an open neurodevelopmental disease diagnostic software infrastructure by interlinking disciplines from clinical data, neuroimaging collection and processing, biomarkers, data fusion, machine learning applied to clinical data, novel prediction algorithms. To best leverage the data potential, PARENT envisions an easy-to-use software infrastructure which provides integrated databases, validated algorithms components and platforms built upon them. This vision can be included in the more general paradigm of evidence-based medicine, personalized medicine and patient center care, as well as decision support systems in clinical field.
PARENT combines the efforts of a multidisciplinary network of 10 leading European research groups, industry partners, pediatric hospitals and parents’ association to develop a technological infrastructure that will train 15 Early Stage Researchers..
PROJECT’S DETAILS
Starting date
1 November, 2020
Coordinator
Marco Agostino Deriu
Coordinator
Politecnico di Torino
Project officer
Maja Kamceva
Grant Agreement
956394
Funding Institution
H2020-EU.1.3.1.
Funding scheme
MSCA-ITN-ETN – European Training Networks
Total number of enrolled ESR
15
Requested EU contribution
€ 3 835 853,28
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Politecnico di Torino
Marco Agostino Deriu
Universidad de Cadiz
Lionel Cervera
Univerza v Ljubljani
Aleksander Sadikov
Fundación para la Gestión
de la Investigación Biomédica de Cádiz
Isabel Benavente-Fernandez
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Els Ortibus
Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù
Lorenzo Galletti
NEUS Diagnostics
Vida Groznik
7HC
Daria Amoroso
ICOMETRIX NV
Thibo Billiet
TOELT GmbH
Umberto Michelucci
GPI S.P.A.
Antonio Colangelo
Key Objectives
Lead beneficiary

Neonatal Brain Specific Hybrid Neuroimaging Technology
Lead beneficiary

Personalized Eye Tracking in Newborn at Neurological Risk
Lead beneficiary

Congenital Heart Disease and NDD Relationship
Lead beneficiary

Computational Modelling to predict ncRNA-NDD association
Lead beneficiary

Depiction of the complex multidimensional landscape characterizing neurodevelopmental trajectory
Reliable neuroimaging and other clinical and biochemical markers for detecting high risk infants would be critical in order to take advantage of infant neuroplasticity and improve motor and/or cognitive outcomes through effective therapies. Instead, the classical diagnosis of neurological disfunction on premature infants, is yet based upon clinical monitoring of development (by neuroimaging data, neurological and motor assessments), pointing toward possible signs of impairments as proof of an altered neurodevelopmental trajectory (NDTrj).
Despite the advances in neonatal care have greatly improved survival of preterm born infants even at extremely low gestational ages, we are now at a period of steadiness where no further improvement in long-term neurodevelopmental outcome is seen.
Enhancing technologies for detection and rationalization of clinical data from premature infants and follow-ups of newborn at risk for neurological injury, is therefore a necessary step to improve the long-term quality of life and lowering the social cost for the community.