From Research to Application: Projects at Fraunhofer EMFT

The APECS pilot line aims to be Europe’s leading platform for advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration, driving next-generation integrated systems.

Every year, over 3 million immobile people worldwide suffer from severe, mostly preventable pressure ulcers, with around 0.6 million in Germany. Pressure ulcers not only cause personal suffering but are also time-consuming and costly to treat. Current prophylaxis methods require significant commitment from nursing staff and do not provide continuous security. Therefore, there is an urgent need for individual and continuous monitoring for effective pressure ulcer prophylaxis. SoreAlert, a potential spin-off from Fraunhofer EMFT, addresses this need with a smart patch that allows for automated monitoring of at-risk body areas and provides early warnings for pressure ulcers.

The Covid19 pandemic demonstrates how easily the development of new vaccines can become a race against time. Before a new vaccine is ready for approval, it must first be tested for effectiveness and absence of side effects. This involves complex and often time-consuming processes. Researchers at the Fraunhofer EMFT and the University of Regensburg are working on an assay concept that could make the efficacy testing of vaccine candidates faster and at the same time more informative.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in Europe - with more than 6 million new cases every year within the EU. Reliable monitoring systems that detect intermittent abnormalities and recognize critical cardiac behaviors would be an effective means of preventing the feared sudden cardiac death. The goal of the EU SmartVista (Smart Autonomous Multi Modal Sensors for Vital Signs Monitoring) project is to develop and demonstrate a next-generation, low-cost, intelligent multi-modal sensor platform to reduce the incidence of sudden death from cardiovascular disease.

The Fraunhofer Center for »Biogenic Value Creation and Smart Farming« conducts research and development on innovative technologies for sustainable production and processing of agricultural products along the whole value chain.

A birth is a miracle of nature - but also a highly vulnerable stage in the lives of mother and baby. In the EU project Newlife, researchers from 6 European countries are jointly working on innovative sensor-based monitoring solutions to ensure the well-being of mother and child during pregnancy as well as during and after birth. The aim is to digitally revolutionize paediatric and childbirth care.

Air filtration systems are considered an effective measure to reduce the risk of infection by SARS-Cov-2 in enclosed spaces. However, the HEPA filters commonly used to date are maintenance-intensive and costly. Researchers at Fraunhofer EMFT, together with Helmholtz Zentrum München, ams OSRAM International GmbH and MANN+HUMMEL GmbH are developing self-sterilizing filter elements using integrated LED chips to clean the air.

Fraunhofer EMFT is developing intelligent plasters for the early detection of pressure ulcers in nursing care. For this purpose, work is being done on an AI-supported prophylaxis that can initiate preventive actions through early detection, thus making life easier for nursing staff and the person treating the patient.

The Internet of Things (IoT) offers huge potential for the healthcare sector - from diagnostics and patient safety to optimized logistical processes. A total of 21 European partners are working in the SERENE-IoT project to create elementary basics for IoT applications in healthcare. As part of the project, the German consortium coordinated by Fraunhofer EMFT is developing an IoT-compatible mobile analyzer for detecting multi-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Applications in future areas such as autonomous driving, robotics and Industry 4.0 require high-performance IC components for data processing and transmission. In order to meet the rigorous demands in terms of reliability and robustness, application-specific microcontrollers or components of older production generations have mostly been used up to now – but this results in reduced performance of these systems as compared to mobile radio or computer systems with modems and CPUs of the latest production generation, which are capable of processing a vastly higher data rate. This is where the project ROBUSTNE comes in: researchers at Fraunhofer EMFT are working with TU Munich and Intel to specifically adapt the robustness and reliability of high-performance, high-volume components at critical points.