On 13–14 May 2025, partners from across Europe gathered in Athens, Greece, to officially launch SafeTouch — a groundbreaking Horizon Europe Innovation Action that aims to revolutionise hygiene by developing smart, self-decontaminating surfaces for high-touch areas in healthcare and public spaces.
Coordinated by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), SafeTouch brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of leading experts in microfabrication, infection control, biomedical engineering, sustainability, and innovation management. Over its 36-month duration, the project will design, validate, and prepare for commercialisation an intelligent antimicrobial surface technology – the iSafeTouch (iST) microfilm – capable of detecting touch and automatically killing pathogens in milliseconds.
A Bold Vision for Hygiene
Surfaces like door handles, light switches, and bed rails are often overlooked in hygiene protocols. Yet, they play a critical role in the spread of healthcare-associated and community-acquired infections. Current disinfection methods are manual, time-consuming, and dependent on chemicals.
SafeTouch is pioneering smart, self-decontaminating microfilm technology, designed to instantly eliminate harmful pathogens from high-touch surfaces — creating safer, healthier communities through innovation.
The iSafeTouch microfilms offer:
- Instant pathogen elimination via ultrafast thermal activation
- Eco-friendly, chemical-free hygiene solutions
- Connected hygiene management through an intelligent Smart Hygiene Grid (SHG)
This breakthrough approach enables not only rapid disinfection but also seamless integration with digital infrastructure for real-time hygiene monitoring and control.
“We’re excited to launch a project that brings together cutting-edge microscale heat transfer, sustainability, and digital health,” said Prof. Nikos Chronis from NTUA, the project coordinator. “SafeTouch has the potential to fundamentally transform how we think about hygiene — not just in hospitals, but in everyday public environments.”
Held at the History Museum in Athens, the kick-off meeting allowed the SafeTouch consortium to align on technical goals, work package plans, and early implementation steps.
Project partners include the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), serving as project coordinator; Advanced HealthTech for Cell Therapy (A4TEC), Asociacion Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria Biogipuzkoa (Hospital Universitario Donostia), Hellenic BioCluster (HBIO), Martel Innovate, the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology and LOMARTOV.
Together, the consortium aims to deliver both scientific breakthroughs and a viable pathway to real-world impact, especially in healthcare, senior care, transportation, and other hygiene-critical environments.
