On December 31, 2023, the implementation of the project for construction of Leonardo da Vinci Center of Competence in Personalized Medicine, 3D and Telemedicine, Robotic-Assisted and Minimally Invasive Surgery will be completed, with Medical University - Pleven (MU-Pleven), "Prof. Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov" Medical University - Varna (MU-Varna) and the Institute of Robotics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IR-BAS) as beneficiaries. The project BG05M2OP001-1.002-0010-С04 started on July 26, 2018 and is funded by the "Science and Education for Smart Growth" Operational Program with the support of the European Structural and Investment Funds. The total cost of the project is 23,695,179.29 BGN, of which 20,140,902.40 BGN European and 3,554,276.89 BGN national co-financing. The leading organization for the implementation and realization of the project is MU-Pleven, with main partners MU-Varna and the Institute of Robotics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IR-BAS).
The Leonardo da Vinci Center of Competence was officially opened on April 8, 2022 by the Minister of Education and Science, Acad. Nikolay Denkov, and the Rector of MU-Pleven, Prof. Dr. Dobromir Dimitrov. The event was attended by members of the managing body of the "Science and Education for Smart Growth" Operational Program, the project implementation teams from the lead organization MU-Pleven, the partner organizations MU-Varna and the Institute of Robotics at the BAS, members of the parliament, the mayor of Pleven Municipality, the regional governor, members of the project teams and other guests.
The Center of Competence in Personalized Medicine, 3D and Telemedicine, Robotic-Assisted and Minimally Invasive Surgery has a total of 10 laboratories equipped with high-tech apparatuses and specialized software. Seven of them, operating at MU-Pleven, are: Laboratory for Precision Oncology and Genomic Medicine; Laboratory for Precision Pathology with Application of Telepathology, Morphometry and Telemedicine Methods; Laboratory for 3D Printing, Modeling and Analysis; Laboratory for Research and Training of Surgeons in a Virtual Reality (VR) Environment; Integrated Interdisciplinary Operating Room with Navigation and Telesurgery Systems; Laboratory for Stereotactic Vacuum Aspiration Biopsies and Center for Robotic-Assisted Surgery at MU-Pleven. Two are located at the Institute of Robotics with the BAS: Experimental Laboratory for Robotic-Assisted Surgery and Laboratory for Experimental Developments for the Needs of Minimally Invasive Surgery. A Robotic-Assisted Surgery Center was built at Medical University - Varna with the purchase of the latest generation robotic system "Da Vinci Xi" including a training simulator and an installation kit.
Innovations in the Center of Competence are aimed at introducing and using new methods for personalized diagnostics and treatment; new methods of teaching and training using the built infrastructure; new health services; creating medical databases; using virtual reality (VR) environment and 3D modeling in medicine and training; robotic-assisted and minimally invasive surgery.
The transfer of knowledge and technology at the Center of Competence includes training of students, doctoral students, postdoctoral and specializing doctors and young scientists; carrying out extensive publication activities, including patent applications; providing access to highly specialized equipment to interested parties; ensuring access to the acquired new knowledge with the status of a health service.
Potential users of innovations in the Center of Competence are state, municipal and private medical institutions; individuals and patients in need of highly specialized medical examinations; developers of medical equipment and devices; medical specialists in need of specialized training with the equipment; class, professional and patient organizations; insurance companies. Currently, contracts for joint scientific projects have been concluded, doctoral dissertations on topics from the project areas have been defended, and a number of trainings for students, doctoral students and postgraduates have been conducted in a VR environment and the laboratories of the Center of Competence.
The indicative results achieved in the Center of Competence during the project implementation period have been met and exceeded, and expressed in figures include:
- A total of 114 new researchers have been appointed to the project, including 40 young scientists up to 34 years old, participating in research and development activities;
- A total of 20 doctoral students, postdoctoral students and specialists in the individual thematic areas of the project, 8 defended dissertations;
- Almost 60 scientific publications in prestigious national, European and global medical journals, with impact factor (IF) of 74.107;
- A total of 8 applications for patent registration of inventions have been submitted, of which 2 have received approval from the Patent Office;
- Forty-three (43) signed contracts for joint research projects to date;
- One (1) foreign scientist attracted to work on the project topics;
- Over 95% utilization of the budget funds pledged for the project.
The Center of Competence is at the forefront of the projects funded in the country under the Operational Program and was nominated for the prestigious European Commission REGIOSTARS award in the Competitive and Smart Europe category.
Scientific publications in national, European and world medical editions
ABSTRACT BOOK
