The MINERVA device, patented by Politecnico di Milano, is one of around 100 patents on show in Rome for ‘L'Italia dei Brevetti: invenzioni e innovazioni di successo’ (The Italy of Patents: successful inventions and innovations), organised by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) to highlight the variety of Italian inventive activity and the complexity of technological innovation processes in various production sectors.

The device, the basic element of an innovative multi-organ technological platform capable of hosting cutting-edge in vitro models based on cells and bacteria, is the result of European Research Council (ERC)-funded projects Minerva, Diana and Prometeo, coordinated by Prof. Carmen Giordano. These are research projects addressing not only the connections between the intestinal bacterial flora (microbiota) and the functioning of our brain but also new therapeutic strategies for diseases affecting the brain.

MINERVA has been selected for the exhibition as a recent finalist in the lntellectual Property Award 2023 competition, organised by MIMIT in collaboration with UIBM - Italian Patent and Trademark Office, Associazione Netval and Invitalia to support and enhance the best patents resulting from public research.

> More info on the exhibition, which runs until March 2025: L’Italia dei Brevetti