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The European Research Council (ERC) plays a critical role in scientific progress by funding investigator-driven, “frontier” research across all fields, based solely on scientific excellence. By providing long-term grants for high-risk/high-gain projects, it encourages pioneering, bottom-up research, supporting scientists of any nationality to advance knowledge in Europe. “The ERC’s mission is to encourage the highest quality…
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Science and technology form a powerful and mutually reinforcing partnership that drives human progress. Scientific research expands our understanding of the natural world by discovering new principles, laws, and phenomena, while technology applies this knowledge to create practical tools, systems, and solutions that improve everyday life. In turn, technological advances provide scientists with increasingly sophisticated…
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Advanced imaging technologies are transforming the way scientists and clinicians observe biological structures and processes. Modern approaches such as Optical Coherence Tomography, Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, and Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering provide high-resolution, label-free visualization of tissues and their biochemical composition. These technologies enable clinicians to detect disease earlier, characterize tissue in real time, and guide minimally invasive medical…
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Research supported by Horizon Europe plays a central role in strengthening Europe’s scientific excellence, technological leadership, and capacity to address major societal challenges. As the European Union’s main research and innovation framework programme, Horizon Europe promotes collaboration between universities, research institutes, industry, and healthcare organizations across Europe and beyond. By funding ambitious and interdisciplinary projects, the programme…
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Endoscopy is a standard diagnostic tool for gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, but its reliability is often limited, and reliance on traditional histopathology can delay cancer treatment and increase costs. This underscores the urgent need for optical biopsy and real-time pathology technologies. The ERC-funded MULTIPROBE project addresses this challenge by developing a photonic endoscopic device that integrates optical diagnostics with cold atmospheric plasma therapy. The device leverages advanced…
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Nonlinear optical fibers offer several important advantages for advanced endoscopic imaging, particularly when using nonlinear optical microscopy techniques such as Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering, Second Harmonic Generation, and Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence. These advantages make them highly attractive for next-generation optical biopsy and minimally invasive diagnostics. A widely cited reference supporting the advantages of nonlinear fiber-based…
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Multimodal endoscopy represents a transformative leap in the future of medical diagnostics and therapy by integrating multiple imaging and sensing techniques into a single platform. By combining modalities such as high-resolution optical imaging, fluorescence detection, and spectroscopic analysis, it enables clinicians to obtain comprehensive, real-time information about tissue structure, function, and biochemical composition. This synergistic…
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The ERC Synergy project MULTIPROBE is set to revolutionize endoscopy by transforming it into a true theragnostic platform, where diagnosis and treatment occur simultaneously in a single procedure. By exploiting advanced multimode nonlinear optical fibers, the system enables real-time “optical biopsy,” providing high-resolution, label-free characterization of tissues without the need for conventional histopathology. At the…