Student UCBM took part in a European project
4 February 2016 - Five months inside the “RoboLab”, the innovative Robotics laboratory of the University of Ljubljana, to take part in a research project that involved all of Europe. This is the thesis in biomedical engineering by Silia Fiore, a young graduate of theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma. “I wanted to have an experience abroad before obtaining the Master's Degree in Biomedical Engineering. - explains Silia - That's why I thought about Erasmus.” A choice supported by the professors: “It was thanks to them that I was able to contact important professors from some of the main European universities, applying for a thesis. And the most interesting proposal was that of Professor Marko Munih".
CareToy, this is the name of the European project in which the student took part during her stay in Slovenia, was coordinated by the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and involved other partners, both Italian and foreign. “It is about the creation of a particular box, entirely sensorized and equipped with five different games configured by pediatric therapists. The children were placed inside it twice a day directly by their parents, who using a computer could choose the type of training to undergo them and at the same time send the data collected by the sensors to the pediatric clinic in charge of monitoring them.” It was Silia herself, in the laboratory, who analyzed some of these data, to monitor the development of movements in children: “We found that after 20 days of training the children had significantly improved their movements. - tells - For this reason, having confirmed its effectiveness as a diagnostic and monitoring tool, the next goal would have been to make CareToy a small home rehabilitation gym".
From Erasmus Silia brought home “above all a different working method, made possible by the comparison with another reality. Obviously without forgetting the enrichment of the curriculum: experience abroad counts a lot today, because the technical skills provided by university studies are a prerequisite taken for granted, but the ability to adapt and socialize is not for everyone. However, I was helped - adds - by the great availability of Professor Munih and PhD students, always ready to help and instruct any student who went to the laboratory.”
Dreams for the future? “I would really like to work in the hospital, directly in the operating room, for example assisting surgeons in using new devices. In pediatrics? Why not!"
