ETH RESC - SPS Funding Programme
The ETH RESC – SPS Funding Programme has been established to support research and development that addresses challenges and opportunities in the area of personalised health for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The research grants are funded by our strategic partner the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation (SPS) – one of the largest solidarity networks in Switzerland.
Research Call 3: Monitoring Technologies for Clinical Decision Making in Spinal Cord Injury
In June 2022, the Competence Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Science (RESC) published its third research call "Monitoring Technologies for Clinical Decision Making in Spincal Cord Injury (SCI)". Applicants were invited to propose novel sensing technology and artificial intelligence methods for outpatient monitoring with direct application to individuals with SCI. Recognizing new patterns of clinical signs and/or symptoms, or indirect correlated metrics could lead to detection of a medical problem onset much more precisely and earlier than today, reducing the burden on affected persons and the healthcare system.
Funding for this research call is supported by RESC's strategic partner the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation in the framework of external page ETH's Rehab Initative.
The grant has been awarded to two promising projects aimed at developing novel sensing technology and artificial intelligence methods for outpatient monitoring with direct application for individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI).
Winner 1: An artificial intelligence (AI)-based telemonitoring tool to measure pain in spinal cord injury patients in at-home settings
The grant will be used to provide a telemonitoring system to quantify and qualify the impact of multidimensional pain markers on the subjective pain experience of SCI patients. The interdisciplinary research group, led by RESC members Dr Stanisa Raspopovic, Assistant Professor and Head of the Neuroengineering Laboratory at D-HEST, and Dr med Armin Curt, Professor for Paraplegiology at University of Zurich (UZH) and Medical Director of the external page Spinal Cord Injury Center at the University Hospital Balgrist, started the project in January 2023 and will run it for 15 months.
Winner 2: A lightweight force measurement wheel system for assessing wheelchair activity in daily life
The grant will be used to develop a novel in-wheel sensor for monitoring wheelchair users in their daily life through an unobtrusive embedded form of wearable technology for manual wheelchairs. The interdisciplinary research group, led by RESC members Bill Taylor, Full Professor at the Laboratory of Movement Biomechanics at D-HEST, and Dr Diego Paez-Granados, Head of Spinal Cord Injury and Artificial Intelligence (SCAI) Lab, started the project in January 2023 and will run it for 2 years.
Research Call 5: Technologies for Clinical Decision Making in Spinal Cord Injury
In July 2024, the Competence Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Science (RESC) published its fifth research call "Technologies for Clinical Decision Making in Spinal Cord Injury". Applicants are invited to propose novel technology and artificial intelligence methods with direct application to individuals with SCI. Proposals should focus on creating new technologies, methods and translational systems for enhancing patient care by improving diagnostic methods, leading to a reduction of unnecessary medical examinations and the associated burdens on both patients and the healthcare system.
Funding for this research call is supported by RESC's strategic partner the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation in the framework of external page ETH's Rehab Initative.