European Support Mechanisms
Session Chair: Anna Mignani, CNR

10:00 - 10:20 hrs
European Innovation Council - EIC: How the Programme Supports Deep Tech Innovators from Idea to the Market

Andreas Lymberis , Head of Sector, EIC Challenge-based Pathfinder,European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), Belgium
Andreas Lymberis is a physicist, post-graduated with a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and sciences (1990, Paris, France). He worked for more than 15 years as researcher/engineer and R&D manager in biomedical technology and health telematics. In 1999 he joined the European Commission (Brussels, Belgium) as a scientific officer in eHealth where he initiated R&D activities on “smart wearable health systems and biomedical clothing”. Senior research program officer in electronic components and systems from 2004, he has been appointed in 2016 as head of sector "Wearables and Bioelectronics" and in 2020 he joined the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) as Head of sector “Project Management” in the Unit EIC Accelerator – SME Instrument. He is currently head of sector EIC Challenge-based Pathfinder (a team of 16 people) at the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), established by the European Commission. He is Senior IEEE Member and chaired the IEEE-EMBS Technical Committee on Wearable Biomedical Sensors and Systems (2004-2007). He published over 60 articles in journals, conference proceedings & books and he is editor of 2 books on wearable and mobile health systems.

10:20 - 10:40 hrs
Funding opportunities for frontier research in Europe

Janne Salo, Scientific Officer, ERC Executive Agency, Belgium
Janne Salo is Doctor of Science in Technology from the Helsinki University of Technology (currently Aalto University, Finland), where he worked as a lecturer in Materials and quantum physics. Since 2010 he has been a scientific officer at the ERC Executive Agency, where he is currently panel coordinator for the Synergy Grant evaluation in the field on Physical sciences and engineering.

Horizon Europe Project Overview
Session Chair: Anna Mignani, CNR

10:40 - 11:00 hrs
OPTIPATH: Adaptive Optical Metasurfaces for Real-Time, Label-Free and Non-Destructive 7D Digital Pathology

Christopher Dirdal, Research Manager, SINTEF Digital
The EIC-funded OPTIPATH project targets a groundbreaking approach to tissue analysis. Combining adaptive metasurfaces with machine learning, it aims to provide fast, accurate 3D imaging of unprepared tissue samples. Polarization, orbital angular momentum, spectral and depth information are harnessed to provide information currently unavailable to practitioners.

11:00 - 11:20 hrs
WAVETAILOR: Modular Laser Sources Enabling Sustainable Production of Short, Personalized Production Series


Danijela Rostohar, Coventry University, UK
WAVETAILOR focuses on two industrial scenarios related to the complex multi-material component and assembly. The first one is the Directed Energy Deposition of a multimaterial leading edge for a hypersonic hydrogen-driven airplane, while the second relates to the Powder Bed Fusion of complex multi-material assembly of a drone for urban delivery. The challenges in both cases are related to zero-defect manufacturing, sustainability, and first-time right manufacturing. WAVETAILOR aims to solve the high-precision in complex material structure manufacturing, the disassembly, reuse, and recycling of components while reducing the environmental footprint of both the manufacturing process and the components themselves.

11:20 - 11:40 hrs
QU-PIC: Quantum Universal Photonic Integrated Circuit Platform


Kai Wang, University of Twente, Netherlands
The QU-PIC project focuses on leveraging the aluminum oxide platform, known for its broadband, from UV to IR, low loss and high-power handling capabilities. This universal pic platform enables the integration of several key building blocks for quantum applications, such as extended cavity diode lasers down to 280 nm, electro-optic modulators, and superconducting nanowire single photon detectors. These components are crucial for developing advanced quantum systems, including quantum ion traps, thereby fostering the growth of quantum technologies within Europe and ensuring European sovereignty in this rapidly evolving sector.

11:40 - 12:00 hrs
OPTIMAL "all-in-one" laser lithography platform

Markus Postl, Joanneum Research, Austria
The OPTIMAL project has integrated for the first-time different laser lithography technologies, quality monitoring systems and processes in one platform for the development of structures with high depth, dimensions in the range from 100 nm to sub-mm, 2D&3D shape on flat surface, combining parallel & serial patterning, no need for external treatments on samples, increased speed and large area.

Panel Discussion: 3D printed microoptics
12:00 - 13:00 hrs

Join panelists from academia and industry to discuss the advantages of tomographic printing vs classical point by point 2 photon printing.
Host:

Georg von Freymann, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany

Panelists:

Christophe Moser, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland

Martin Hermatschweiler, Nanoscribe, Germany

Reinhard Voelkel, SalesPro4U SA, Switzerland

13:00 - 14:00 hrs:
Product Demonstrations

State of the Art Overview: Everyday AI Implications
Session Chair: Amy Hanlon, SPIE

14:00 - 14:25
Integrating AI into Clinical Research: Challenges and Strategies under the European AI Act

Roberto Pini, Andrea Barucci, Valentina Colcelli, CNR-IFAC, Italy;

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into clinical research is progressing at an unprecedented pace. From predictive analytics to diagnostic support, AI is increasingly being used in various stages of the clinical research process, including patient stratification, outcome prediction, image analysis and even protocol optimization, therapy and surgery. Despite its potential, this rapid expansion of AI systems raises new ethical and regulatory challenges, particularly for researchers involved in clinical studies on real patients and for Ethics Committees responsible for evaluating these studies and safeguarding participant rights. In the European Union, this picture has recently been the subject of new regulatory developments, with the issuance of the Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the so-called AI Act, which classifies clinical AI systems as high risk and imposes stringent requirements for data governance, technical documentation, human oversight, and system robustness, well beyond the existing EU Regulations for medical devices. As specific guidelines for medical research with AI are still pending, there is an ongoing debate about how to balance the need to facilitate AI innovation with the requirement to minimize risks to participants while bringing such innovations from the lab to the clinic. For example, preliminary studies aimed solely at algorithm training should be supported, as they could allow to advance research safely, especially in cases where these studies may fall outside medical device regulation. Conversely, studies involving AI systems used in real clinical decision making require careful case by case evaluation [1]. In any case, patients' informed consent must transparently communicate the use of their personal data and the implications of AI technologies.

14:25 - 14:50 hrs
How is AI changing Photonics and Microscopy

Giovanni Volpe, Göteborgs University, Sweden

Artificial intelligence is transforming photonics and microscopy by enabling smarter image acquisition, real-time adaptive control, and data-driven reconstruction beyond physical limits. From virtual staining to inverse design of optical systems, AI is redefining how we build instruments and extract knowledge from light.

14:50 - 15:15 hrs
From Clinical Raman Diagnostics to Personalized Optical Digital Twins Enabled by Everyday AI


J. Popp¹,², ¹Friedrich-Schiller-University, and ²Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Germany

From concept to clinic, real-time Raman diagnostics is rapidly advancing toward practical implementation in healthcare. This talk highlights the clinical translation of label-free Raman spectroscopy, with a strong emphasis on infection medicine, including AI-supported Raman analysis of blood and blood-derived samples for fast, data-driven infection assessment and improved clinical decision support. Complementary examples from oncology include fibre-based Raman probes for intraoperative tissue assessment. A key message is the decisive role of artificial intelligence (AI) in converting complex spectroscopic data into robust and scalable solutions under real clinical constraints. Building on these use cases, we focus on the emerging concept of personalized optical digital twins: continuously updated patient representations combining longitudinal Raman/IR molecular fingerprints with clinical parameters and physiological data streams (e.g., wearables). Optical digital twins may enable early detection of deviations from individual baselines and support predictive, preventive, and personalized care.

15:15 15:40 hrs
AI-accelerated Optics Design, Faster AI

Anni Lehmuskero, Professor of Practice in Optics Design and Senior Optics Specialist, University of Eastern Finland and Entangly, Finland

The presentation highlights emerging AI-driven and automation methods in optical lens design, including neural network based starting point generators and genetic algorithm optimization showing how modern tools can accelerate lens design. It also explores how photonics can improve AI computation efficiency through photonic and neuromorphic hardware.

15:40 - 16:00 hrs
Panel Discussion: Everyday AI Implications