At the last moment in 2020, a brand new Clinical Research Unit (CRU) will be opened in Maastricht and is the result of a collaboration between various clinical departments within NUTRIM. The CRU will soon be an open facility, not only for NUTRIM researchers, but for the entire hospital.
Project PROOF
“The hospital will bear the cost of the renovation, some two million euros. We have obtained a European subsidy for the purchase of the necessary equipment, supported by the Province of Limburg and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. This subsidy is linked to the PROOF project, which aims to devise nutritional solutions for vulnerable groups and patients. The partners within PROOF – scientists, healthcare providers, patients and the business community – have chosen two themes that are of great interest in the current Corona crisis: 1. disruptions in the metabolism and taste profile in pulmonary diseases and 2. loss and delayed recovery of muscle mass in the elderly and chronically ill”.
Innovation platform
The European (Interreg) grant is initially intended for a ‘state of the art’ set-up of the research facility after a thorough renovation has taken place. The unit is outdated in its current form and no longer meets the requirements of patient-friendliness. In concrete terms, after the renovation an innovation platform will be realised for more invasive research, such as tissue sampling and, for example, the administration of so-called stable isotopes via an infusion to gain insight into disrupted metabolic processes in patients. There will be test rooms for movement research and guidance, and several rooms in which researchers can use their own, mobile research equipment. In addition, the new research facility will make use of a new glass cabin, developed by Maastricht Instruments, the room calorimeter BASIC in which energy management can be measured in a patient-friendly manner, for a longer period of time and under different conditions.
The PROOF project is a public-private partnership between Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht University, the Brightlands campus in Venlo, the agrifood business in Venlo, and partners from West Flanders, such as research institutes, development companies and the frozen food industry from that region. The European Interreg grant for the project totals €4.3 million, of which €1.5 million will land in Maastricht.
More information about the room calorimeter BASIC or the more advanced respiration chambers can be found on the products page. Not looking for a room based solution but looking for an indirect calorimetry solution to suit your requirements, also check out our other website or contact us for more information.
Reference: MUMC+ website