The BeNiFIt Project

BeNiFIt
Fully Biocompatible Intrabody Nanoscale Communication System to Foster Novel In-Body Diagnostics and Monitoring Systems
An EU Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship

Imagine a world where detecting diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes is as easy and non-invasive as a simple scan from devices no bigger than a grain of sand, floating in your bloodstream. This isn't science fiction—it's the vision of the BeNiFIt project.

The mission? To harness the power of intra-body nanoscale communications (IBNC), deploying nanomachines into the bloodstream that detect disease biomarkers with incredible accuracy and speed. Think of it as a health checkup happening continuously, inside you, without a single needle prick.

BeNiFIt is not just a leap forward in medical diagnostics; it's a paradigm shift towards preemptive healthcare, promising a future where treatments begin even before symptoms manifest.

Welcome to the future of healthcare. Welcome to BeNiFIt.

About

Chronic diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes, are projected to cost the world $47 trillion by 2030. In addition, the best turnaround delay for lab results is about 7 days or 10,000 hours.

BeNiFIt aims to drastically reduce the economic burden and eliminate the long turnaround times in the early detection of chronic diseases through the innovative application of IBNC.

By offering real-time data transmission from within the bloodstream directly to medical personnel or patients, BeNiFIt stands on the cusp of revolutionizing healthcare through minimally invasive, highly efficient diagnostics.

Objectives

BeNiFIt's mission hinges on three core objectives. First, it seeks to validate IBNC's capability for precise biomarker detection, utilizing nanomachines equipped with advanced biosensors to enhance diagnostic accuracy. Second, BeNiFIt is designing a nanoscale communication architecture that meets the rigorous demands for size, energy efficiency, and safety, incorporating innovative solutions like near-field magnetism. Lastly, the project is developing an open-source, multi-scale IBNC simulator to facilitate the analysis and optimization of system dynamics, from the interaction of biomarkers in the bloodstream to the technical design of biosensors and antennas. This streamlined approach is expected to significantly expedite the development of efficient and safe IBNC systems, propelling BeNiFIt towards its visionary goal.

Principal Investigator

Ethungshan Shitiri earned his Ph.D. in Information and Communication Engineering in 2018 under Dr. Ho Shin Cho from Kyungpook National University (KNU) in South Korea. Following his doctoral studies, Shitiri was a postdoctoral researcher at KNU's IDEC Center from 2018 to 2021 and at the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Advancement Institute from 2021 to 2023. Since 2023, he has been a postdoctoral researcher at N3Cat, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, focusing on intra-body nanoscale communication systems. He has contributed to over 25 scientific publications and a book chapter, focusing on high energy-efficient protocols, resource management, medium access control protocols, and molecular communication-based nanonetworks. Shitiri has collaborated with esteemed institutions such as IIT-Patna, LUT Sweden, and Boğaziçi University Turkey and played a pivotal role in securing two National proposal grants worth $500,000 from the NRF South Korea. His work has earned him several accolades, including the KNU Honors Scholarship (2014), Qualcomm Innovation Award (2016), Best Thesis Award from the School of Electronics (2018), and the Best Paper Award by KICS (2021).

Upcoming events:

Past events:

The 11th Annual ACM International Conference on Nanoscale Computing and Communication, Oct 28-30, Milan, Italy.
The 8th Workshop on Molecular Communications 2024, April 10 -12, Oslo, Norway.