Towards Mental and brain health: outline of the European route for 2019

Ready on the starting line, the European Union main objective is a healthy 4.0. Thus, to stay in the race, it must constantly adapt to the new societal challenges, because as Jacques Delors pointed out: “The European Union is like the bicycle: if it does not move forward, it falls”.

The European Union is built on a consensus model designed to promote and disseminate European ideas in a constantly evolving and highly complex world.

Ready on the starting line, its main objective is a healthy 4.0. Thus, to stay in the race, it must constantly adapt to the new societal challenges, because as Jacques Delors pointed out: “The European Union is like the bicycle: if it does not move forward, it falls“.

Health Itinerary for a 2019 year favourable to the expansion of the field of neuroscience.

Greased chain and inflated tyres, the European Union is ready to engage in the innovation race, part of the research championship. Category is: Neurosciences. On the November, 6th 2018, the European Commission published the report of the Steering Group on Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Non-Communicable Disease. Driven by a desire to ensure practices shaped around the most recent knowledge and techniques, this report places Mental Health on priorities agenda for 2019.

The Union can set out on the path through the development of financial opportunities for innovation research, such as its Horizon 2020 programme. Through calls for proposals to support transnational research on neurodegenerative diseases, the objective is to improve the diagnosis, prevention and care of patients with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, etc…This itinerary consists of several stages, the emphasis is also placed on multidisciplinary research for the implementation of personalized medicine through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

E-Health: A leading tandem in the race to treat mental and cerebral illnesses.

Today, the combination of digital technology and health has become essential to meet societal challenges such as the ageing of the population and the necessary use of digital techniques and tools in the private and entrepreneurial spheres.

The European Union has already had the opportunity to financially support e-health projects. Indeed, the ACTIVAGE project was selected and received a Horizon 2020 grant in 2017, in order to build the first European “Internet of Things” ecosystem that would be beneficial to the construction of an innovative and intelligent living environment for ageing well.

It is in that vein that EIT Health, a network of the best innovators in their Health field category, planned its next actions in December 2018. Thanks to its “Wild Card” program, two main challenges have to be addressed:

• Mental and brain health or how to improve prediction, diagnosis and treatment to fight against mental disorders while building brain capacity;
• Digital biomarkers or how to improve early diagnosis.

Project leaders will thus be able to apply to this call for proposals until 10 February 2019. 

In order to improve its ranking, the European Union is more committed to the development of innovative solutions in response to societal challenges. In the face of international competition, it increases financial envelope dedicated to financing research and innovation projects by a total of 100 billion euro under the new Horizon Europe programme for 2021-2027.

2019 event calendar now available, see you in 2021 for the launch of the next round!