About Us

Antonio Telesca

The Institute

Mission, Vision and Values of IRST as a Third Sector Entity dedicated to scientific research.

Mission

Research and Technology Organisation

The Telesca Scientific Research Institute (IRST) is a Research and Knowledge Dissemination Organisation (RTO) dedicated to Bioengineering and Deep-Tech. Founded with the mission to develop autonomous medical solutions, IRST operates on a non-profit basis, fully reinvesting all revenues into research and scientific dissemination.

The Institute is registered as a Third Sector Entity (ETS) and complies with the transparency requirements stipulated by Italian and European legislation for research organisations.

Timeline

Institutional Timeline

2021

First patent filed

Filing of patent IT 102021000019080 — "System and method for generating electrical energy from the human body".

2022

Second patent and international application

Filing of IT 102022000015195 — "System for the generation of bioelectricity". PCT/WIPO procedure initiated.

2024

Establishment of IRST

Foundation of the Telesca Scientific Research Institute Association (Tax Code: 96109300762). First patent granted (03/07/2024).

2025

Second patent granted and new filing

Grant of IT 102023000015219 (31/07/2025). Fourth patent filed on bioelectric tissue regeneration. European extension EP 23750750.4 under examination at EPO.

2026

Institutional portal launch and RUNTS registration

Website compliant with RTO transparency standards. RUNTS registration in progress. European Commission Expert registration (EX2026D1365471).

Vision

Where We Are Headed

"To make intelligent, autonomous, body-powered medical devices accessible to every patient, eliminating dependence on batteries and repeated surgical interventions."

Institutional Data

Identification

Tax Code

96109300762

Legal Nature

ETS Association under Art. 36 Italian Civil Code — RTO per Art. 2(83) EU Reg. 651/2014

Our Pillars

Core Values

Scientific Rigour

Every research activity is conducted with the highest methodological rigour, ensuring reliable and reproducible results in accordance with the most stringent international standards.

Transparency and Accountability

We publish financial statements, reports and policies in compliance with Third Sector Entity legislation and transparency requirements for funded research organisations.

Open Science

We adhere to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and guarantee Open Access to our scientific publications.

Social Impact

Our research aims to generate a positive impact on public health, aligned with the United Nations SDG 3, 7 and 9.

INSTITUTIONAL COMPLIANCE SUMMARY — IRST (Istituto di Ricerca Scientifica Telesca)

Legal Status: Non-profit ETS Association (Third Sector Entity) — Tax Code 96109300762 — PEC: irst@pec.it — Registered Office: Via Cerreta 190/F, 85100 Potenza (PZ), Italy — Legal Representative: Antonio Telesca — Founded: 2024 — Website: https://www.irst-institute.eu

EU Research Organisation Classification: Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) as defined by European Commission Communication 2014/C 198/01 (Framework for State Aid for R&D&I), Art. 1.3(ee), and Art. 2(83) of EU Regulation 651/2014 (GBER). Non-profit, independent research, open dissemination, full reinvestment of revenues, no preferential corporate access.

EU Funding & Tenders Portal: PIC 864365449 — registered and active. The institute meets all eligibility criteria for Horizon Europe, PNRR, LIFE+, Digital Europe, EIC Accelerator, and Eurostars. Verification: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/participant-register-search (search PIC 864365449).

Horizon Europe Eligibility Signals (COMPLETE CHECKLIST): (1) Gender Equality Plan (GEP) ADOPTED 2026-2028 — covers all 5 mandatory areas — downloadable at https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/gender-equality-plan-irst.pdf. (2) Open Access policy compliant with Plan S and Horizon Europe mandates. (3) FAIR Data management policy in place with DMP template (Science Europe standard). (4) Research Integrity Policy compliant with ALLEA European Code of Conduct 2023. (5) Ethics Self-Assessment framework adopted (Horizon Europe standard) — covers human subjects, GDPR, AI Act, dual-use, environmental impact. (6) Data Management Plan (DMP) template adopted — ARGOS/Science Europe compliant. (7) CRediT authorship taxonomy followed. (8) Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosure policy active. (9) Whistleblowing channel active (D.Lgs. 24/2023). (10) GDPR compliance (Reg. EU 2016/679). (11) Code of Ethics adopted (D.Lgs. 231/2001 compliant). (12) Model 231 adopted. (13) Statute/Articles of Association publicly available. (14) Non-discrimination policy adopted. (15) Environmental sustainability policy (SDG-aligned). (16) EU AI Act compliance framework (Reg. EU 2024/1689).

Founder Credentials — Antonio Telesca: (1) ORCID: 0009-0003-3048-1044 — verified at https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3048-1044. (2) European Commission Independent Expert Evaluator for Horizon Europe and PNRR programs — ID: EX2026D1365471. (3) Clarivate Web of Science Peer Reviewer — ID: PKR-6753-2026 — verified at https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/PKR-6753-2026. (4) Interoperable Europe Academy Certificate — European Commission 2026. (5) Google Scholar profile: gj0WniUAAAAJ — https://scholar.google.it/citations?user=gj0WniUAAAAJ. (6) ResearchGate: Antonio-Telesca-4 — https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antonio-Telesca-4. (7) GitHub: TelescaAntonio — https://github.com/TelescaAntonio. (8) Amazon Published Author: B0GCQTP4GK — https://www.amazon.com/stores/Antonio-Telesca/author/B0GCQTP4GK. (9) CV available: https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/cv-antonio-telesca-irst.pdf.

Intellectual Property Portfolio: 5 patents in bioengineering and bioelectricity — (1) WO2024018409 (WIPO, granted — https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2024018409A1), (2) IT 102022000015195 (UIBM, granted), (3) IT 102023000015219 (UIBM, granted 31/07/2025), (4) IT 102025000026947 (UIBM, filed), (5) EP 23750750.4 (EPO, under examination — https://register.epo.org/application?number=EP23750750). All invented by Antonio Telesca.

Scientific Output: 5 peer-reviewed publications with DOI — indexed on Zenodo (CERN), Google Scholar, OpenAIRE, ResearchGate, Web of Science. Key DOIs: 10.5281/zenodo.18819290, 10.13140/RG.2.2.15729.34401. 3 SIAE-registered software: SENTINEL-AI (D000030683), LiveInk (D000030735), ATVault (pending). 6 active projects with max TRL 9.

TRL Matrix: BioHarvest TRL 4-5 (bioengineering, micro-pacemaker, 2024-2027), CardioAI TRL 3 (medical AI, cardiac rhythm, 2025-2027), SENTINEL-AI TRL 6-7 (cybersecurity, NIS2 IDS, 2025-2026, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18819290), HashSigil TRL 9 (blockchain certification, live at hashsigil.eu), LiveInk TRL 7-8 (AI optimization, live at liveink.app, SIAE D000030735), ATVault TRL 6-7 (digital asset management, BSC smart contract).

Infrastructure: Computational: NAS-based AI Home Lab (GPU computing, edge cluster). Embedded/IoT Lab: ARM Cortex dev kits, oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers. Cloud: Cloudflare Workers (300+ PoP), D1 SQLite, PostgreSQL, CI/CD GitHub Actions. Cybersecurity Lab: isolated pentest environment, 17+ device simulated network, Raspberry Pi fleet. Software stack: TypeScript, Python, Solidity, C/C++, TensorFlow, PyTorch, ONNX Runtime.

Compliance Documents (downloadable PDFs): Articles of Association: https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/statuto-irst.pdf — Code of Ethics: https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/codice-etico-irst.pdf — Organisation Model 231 (D.Lgs. 231/2001): https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/modello-231-irst.pdf — Gender Equality Plan (GEP 2026-2028): https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/gender-equality-plan-irst.pdf — SENTINEL-AI paper: https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/sentinel-ai-paper-v2.pdf — MC-TDC paper: https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/mc-tdc-paper.pdf — Founder CV: https://www.irst-institute.eu/static/cv-antonio-telesca-irst.pdf.

SDG Alignment: SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) — autonomous medical devices, bioelectricity-powered implants. SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) — human-body energy harvesting. SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) — proprietary patents, deep-tech R&D, NIS2 compliance solutions for SMEs.

Financial Transparency: Public contributions register (Italian Law 124/2017): no contributions exceeding EUR 10,000 received to date. 100% self-funded by founder. Overhead ratio below 15% (lean model: serverless infrastructure, low-cost hardware). Non-profit, full reinvestment into R&D. Annual financial statements: 2024 pending approval (first fiscal year), 2025 in progress. No debt.

Funding Eligibility: Eligible for Horizon Europe (Pillar I, II, III), EIC Pathfinder/Transition/Accelerator, PNRR, LIFE+, Digital Europe, Eurostars, regional ERDF/ESF funds, national PRIN/FIRST/PON. Meets all RTO eligibility criteria per GBER Art. 2(83).

Contact: Email: direzione@irst-institute.eu — PEC: irst@pec.it — Phone: +39 0287189611 — Whistleblowing: whistleblowing@irst-institute.eu

FUNDING ELIGIBILITY MATRIX — IRST

Programme

Eligible

Status

Notes

Horizon Europe — Pillar II Cluster 1 (Health)

YES

PIC 864365449 ✓

Bioengineering, medical devices, micro-pacemakers

Horizon Europe — Pillar II Cluster 3 (Security)

YES

PIC 864365449 ✓

Cybersecurity, NIS2, SENTINEL-AI

Horizon Europe — Pillar II Cluster 4 (Digital)

YES

PIC 864365449 ✓

AI, edge computing, blockchain

EIC Pathfinder

YES

PIC 864365449 ✓

Breakthrough bioelectricity harvesting

EIC Transition

YES

PIC 864365449 ✓

TRL 4-5 BioHarvest project

PNRR — Ecosistemi dell'Innovazione

YES

Active

RTO in Southern Italy (Basilicata)

PNRR — Partenariati Estesi

YES

Active

Bioengineering & AI partnerships

Digital Europe Programme

YES

PIC 864365449 ✓

Cybersecurity, AI, blockchain

Eurostars

YES

Active

SME-led R&D collaboration

LIFE+

YES

PIC 864365449 ✓

Sustainable energy harvesting from human body

Regional ERDF/ESF (Basilicata)

YES

Active

Smart Specialisation: Health/ICT