Back The ViBelt project to help overcome vertigo wins the award for the best proposal for a technological device on the bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering

The ViBelt project to help overcome vertigo wins the award for the best proposal for a technological device on the bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering

Each year, students of the subject Introduction to Medical Devices and their Design (IMDD) carry out projects to propose technological solutions to a variety of clinical needs. The winning project will receive a grant of 5,000 euros from the UPF Board of Trustees to promote its development and implementation.

12.12.2022

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The ViBelt project, which presents technological solutions to help overcome vertigo, has won the award for the best proposal for a medical device on the UPF bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. For the second time, the winning project of this competition will receive a grant of 5,000 euros from the UPF Board of Trustees, to facilitate its development and implementation.

Each year, UPF students on the bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering design new medical devices to improve the treatment of various diseases and patient well-being, as part of the subject Introduction to Medical Devices and their Design (IMDD). Each year, a winning proposal is chosen from the various projects submitted, which this year total five.

Judith Recober, representing the group of students of the winning project: “We believe that project-based subjects like this one are highly valuable and interesting for our education and experience”

The winning project of this edition proposes a non-invasive technological solution for vestibular rehabilitation to solve vertigo. The vestibular system is located in the inner ear and helps maintain balance and posture and is also decisive in controlling vertigo. This proposal has been developed by the team of students composed of Manal Barrouhou, Clàudia-Li Valiente, Carla Leal, Eva Maria Ferrer, Iraïs Garcés de Marcilla, Nerea González Aranceta, Daniel Patón and Judith Recober.

On behalf of the winning team, Judith Recober expressed the satisfaction of all its members at having been able to take this subject and carry out this project and her gratitude at receiving the award: “This subject has allowed us to work and learn with a far more practical methodology, to find out first-hand about a great variety of cases of people who, based on an idea, have been able to create a startup, and all their experience. We have also been able to learn very important concepts, which may not be dealt with on the degree programme, such as economics, the market and market regulation, among others. We believe that project-based subjects like this one are highly valuable and interesting for our education and experience”. She also gave thanks for the support that this award grants to be able to continue developing this project, and conveyed the group’s enthusiasm at being able to move it forward.

A project chosen by an evaluation committee of experts from the university world and from companies in the clinical and technological sectors

The committee entrusted with selecting the winning project from among the five proposals submitted was made up of the following members: Núria Brunet Garcia (Technology Transfer Manager at UPF), Marta Guardiola Garcia  (CTO, co-founder and president of Miwendo), Javier Jiménez (CEO and founder of NewBorn Solutions), Núria Martí  (director of Innovation and Business Development at Biocat), Xavier Puñet Ortiz (PhD, MPM and Innovation Business Developer at i4KIDS), and Antoni Riu (managing director and co-founder of Galgo Medical).

Montserrat Vendrell, president of the UPF Board of Trustees, describes why it is supporting the winning project of this subject: “it encourages cross-cutting learning through challenges and enhances innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. All these values are what the Board of Trustees wishes to promote, because we believe that they are what society needs”

For the second time, the winning project of this competition will receive a grant of 5,000 euros from the UPF Board of Trustees to be able to develop and implement it in real clinical environments, beyond the academic sphere.  

Montserrat Vendrell, president of the UPF Board of Trustees, explains the reasons why it is supporting the project by the students of this subject: “it encourages cross-cutting learning through challenges -it involves various disciplines- and enhances innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. All these values are what the Board of Trustees wishes to promote, because we believe that they are what society needs”.

In addition to the support of the UPF Board of Trustees, the award includes the help and advice of the Innovation Unit - UPF Business Shuttle, which promotes the transfer of knowledge and entrepreneurship to the scientific and business world, based on projects generated at the University.

A subject to learn how to design medical devices

The development of medical device design projects is part of the Introduction to Medical Devices and their Design (IMDD) course in the fourth year of the UPF bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, which is taught on the Poblenou and Mar campuses.

The main goal of the course is to provide students with knowledge about the technological mechanisms required to develop medical devices and the basic concepts on how to market them, through their possible medical applications. Mainly, work is done on the design of medical devices for the treatment of cardiovascular and neurological diseases.

Antoni Ivorra, subject coordinator: “Over a couple of months, the students identify and validate a clinical need, devise a medical device in response to the clinical need, analyse regulations, intellectual property, commercial and business issues, perform proof-of-concept tests, and prepare a proposal for future development to be eligible for a competitive prize”

Beyond the theoretical contents, the most important part of this subject consists of the conception and development of a proposal for a medical device. “Over a couple of months, the students identify and validate a clinical need, devise a medical device in response to the clinical need, analyse regulations, intellectual property, commercial and business issues, perform proof-of-concept tests, and prepare a proposal for future development to be eligible for a competitive prize”, explains Antoni Ivorra, subject coordinator and lecturer with the UPF Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC). 

Students are organized into groups of four to eight, who work together to develop a design proposal. They can freely choose the theme of the project they wish to carry out, but in all cases they must follow minimal working guidelines, which include analysing such aspects as the basic physiological and pathological characteristics of the disease that will be treated using the designed device; the technological devices that have been previously developed for similar purposes; the materials and design of the proposed device; the methodologies applied; the advantages and risks; examples of situations in which it could be applied, etc.

Once their project has been designed, the students must make a presentation, which is approached with the aim of convincing potential investors or companies and clinics in the medical sector of the benefits of its possible implementation. For this presentation, the students can present a demo or prototype. Sometimes, the prototypes integrate parts manufactured with 3D printers, which are located in the Tallers area of the Poblenou campus.

The presentations of the projects carried out during the first term of this academic year took place on Friday, 2 December. In addition to the winning project, a further four proposals were presented that posed technological solutions linked to the treatment of gastric, ear, nervous system and mental health diseases.

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