The VASCOVID team meets in Menorca

The VASCOVID team meet for the first fully in-person meeting. For two days, the partners shared their views about the project’s progress and its latest advancements and discussed the future next steps.

For the first in-person meeting, the VASCOVID team met at a beautiful location on the western coast of Menorca. Travelling from Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland and Barcelona, the partners arrived on Wednesday afternoon and got together for the sunset and dinner.

The meeting started on Thursday morning with a presentation of the latest projects’ advancements, specifically the start of the device testing at the Parc Taulí hospital. Marta Zanoletti presented the protocols tested, the software interface and the kind of data obtained, giving details on the measurements, scattering and absorption.

Then, partners also discussed potential improvements for the future device, for example, the materials and flexibility of the probe. Each partner assessed the project advancements, sharing their view about the current achievements and challenges and the expectations about the short and mid-term next steps. Davide Contini from POLIMI highlighted that, although this kind of project usually lasts 4 to 5 years, the VASCOVID instruments have been developed in only 1.5 years, a remarkable achievement. Michele Lacerenza from Pionirs praised the collaboration among partners highlighting the usefulness of being in the information chain daily.

Diego Sanoja from Asphalion presented the needs and next steps of the regulatory part of the project, explaining the requirements from partners and the documentation that will be needed to put together. A brainstorming session about the possible applications beyond the project’s ending followed.

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In the afternoon, the group went for a guided tour in the nearby city of Ciutadella. The local guide and VASCOVID clinician Jaume Mesquida showed the team around the city’s old town, explaining a bit about the history and culture of the island. After the tour, the team tried the local beverage gin amb llimonada, and went shopping for the typical abarques shoes. The evening ended with a dinner in the city center.

On Friday, the meeting was restarted by a presentation of the measurements done on the ICU patients, showing the data obtained. A discussion on the steps beyond the project’s ending followed, going through different options of funding opportunities. The upcoming communication and dissemination actions were also discussed, focusing on the workshop planned for next November in Milan. Project managers reminded everyone about the upcoming deadlines and deliverables,

The meeting concluded with the coordinator Turgut Durduran thanking everyone for their attendance and work. Finally, the day ended with most of the team heading to the nearby beach of Cala mitjana.

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