Research groups specialising in Industrial Technologies, ICT, Biomedical Engineering, and Processes and Recycling are joining forces on five research projects under the ‘Impulso’ Programme run by the Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), which aims to promote collaboration between groups from the Institute’s various divisions.
Five projects focusing on health, energy efficiency and sustainability. Innovative, multidisciplinary initiatives involving technological advancement, carried out by groups that have not previously collaborated and do not have specific funding for this purpose, always in accordance with the criteria of quality, feasibility and novelty of the proposal. Each of these projects has received €10,000 in funding and is being carried out under the coordination of researchers from the various selected groups.
Portable inductive heating system for the disinfection of implanted prostheses, designed for clinical validation
Coordinated by Borja López (GEPM). The overall objective of the project is to develop and validate an advanced prototype of a portable inductive heating system for the disinfection of implanted prostheses, with a view to future real-world clinical trials and technology transfer to the biomedical sector. This objective will be addressed by drawing on the Power Electronics and Microelectronics Group’s (GEPM) previous experience in power electronics, electromagnetic induction and electromagnetic-thermal modelling, together with the clinical expertise provided by the Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology team at La Paz Hospital–IdiPAZ/UAM. The potential area for technology transfer lies in the field of medical devices for orthopaedic surgery, the treatment of prosthetic infections and intraoperative technologies to support implant preservation.
BREAK-I3A: Breakthrough Reconfigurable Engineered Adsorption Kit.
This initiative is being coordinated by Eduardo Andrés García (GPT) and Alexander García Mariaca (ECO2) with the aim of fostering links and strengthening collaboration between different groups at the Institute (GPT, ECO2, CREG, GUIA, TFD) specialising in energy, sustainability and AI. The overall aim of the project is to assess the potential of biochar-based adsorbent materials for the capture, separation and utilisation of CO₂ from exhaust gases, including the development of new solutions to reduce emissions from the transport sector. To achieve this objective, a portable and modular breakthrough platform will be designed, built, commissioned and validated to enable dynamic adsorption tests to be carried out under conditions representative of actual operation. As a result, the I3A will have a shared experimental infrastructure for studying gas capture and separation processes using adsorbent materials.
PEDIALERT: Deep learning and personalised anomaly detection in photoplethysmography signals for the early detection of paediatric apnoea
A project coordinated by Pablo Armañac (BSICoS) and Javier Civera (RoPeRT), one specialising in the processing and interpretation of biomedical signals and the other in robotics, computer vision and artificial intelligence. The aim is to develop and validate a system for the early detection of paediatric apnoea using deep learning models applied to the photoplethysmography (PPG) signal. Moving away from traditional approaches that rely on the delayed monitoring of oxygen desaturation, the system aims to analyse each child’s baseline respiratory signature on an individual basis and detect the precise moment when airway obstruction begins. Through training and validation using real clinical databases, the research aims to scale up the technology, laying the foundations for a home-based triage and screening tool that is highly transferable to wearable device manufacturers and healthcare services.
Comprehensive characterisation of combustion, the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the reactivity of soot in isolated droplets of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and their blends with Jet A-1
Coordinated by Álvaro Muelas (TFD) and Beatriz Rosales (GPT). Its objectives: to develop and refine a local sampling system for capturing PAHs and particulate matter in the droplet environment, as a method for reconstructing the transient behaviour of these pollutants; to generate an experimental database on the evaporation/combustion of various relevant SAF samples and their blends with Jet A-1, through isolated droplet experiments under a wide range of conditions of interest; to carry out a detailed physico-chemical characterisation of the soots produced in the droplet tests, as well as a quantification of the PAHs generated, and to study the oxidative reactivity of the soots obtained, correlating it with the composition of the SAF samples and their corresponding blends.
GAP-OPT: Bridging the gap between optimal design and the actual operation of polygeneration energy systems using artificial intelligence
A project to be coordinated by Eduardo Pina (GITSE) and Mario Suaza (IAAA), bringing together the expertise of the two research groups. They will use advanced artificial intelligence tools to model, predict and bridge the gap between theoretical simulations at the design stage and the real, dynamic conditions experienced by these infrastructures during their day-to-day operation. The aim is to maximise actual energy efficiency, reduce emissions and facilitate the transition from predictive models to practical applications of intelligent control in the industrial sector.
