[I-RIM ML] [Jobs] PhD Opportunity at University of Naples Federico II: Fit for Medical Robotics (Fit4MedRob) Project on Rehabilitation

[fanny.ficuciello]

Dear Colleagues,
We are searching for two PhD students to join the PRISMA group at the 
University of Naples Federico II to work in the field of Rehabilitation 
Robotics.
We propose two different topics, the first is on the innovative design 
of prostheses and exoskeletons using soft materials and actuators, and 
the second is on the control of wearable robots. The students will work 
within the Fit for Medical Robotics (Fit4MedRob) Project and will have 
the opportunity of interacting with a recognized network of experts in 
the fields of mechanical design, robotics and machine learning. More 
information on the position can be found in the following.

Important dates
Application deadline: 02/08/2023
Tentative date of enrolment: 01/11/2023

Details of the call are available:
Please submit your application following the detailed instructions at 
this link
https://es.sonicurlprotection-fra.com/click?PV=2&MSGID=202307162100150224587&URLID=1&ESV=10.0.19.7431&IV=F61EADFDEA7244FA9E2918F8E724E456&TT=1689541216414&ESN=gYHtbi2v1WoogeOAoJcQdy8By%2B%2FW0CCBUNDltWT9S3g%3D&KV=1536961729280&B64_ENCODED_URL=aHR0cDovL3d3dy51bmluYS5pdC9kaWRhdHRpY2EvcG9zdC1sYXVyZWEvZG90dG9yYXRpLWRpLXJpY2VyY2EvYmFuZGktZGktYW1taXNzaW9uZQ&HK=A786EADF6EF99017AC10627A565256417EF0DCBB3DEB6684B89DEBCA682CEE44
please in the document refer to
“Scholarships funded by PNRR MUR project PNC0000007 no. 5-project title: 
Fit for Medical Robotics (Fit4MedRob)-Spoke /
topic: Next Generation Components – CUP B53C22006840001”

Project description
Fit for Medical Robotics aims to address a major clinical, 
socio-economical and humanitarian issue which
stems from the demand of rehabilitation and personal care of people with 
reduced or absent motor, sensory, or cognitive functions due to injuries 
or congenital reasons. Current rehabilitation and assistive models 
offered by the national healthcare system lack in personalization and 
adequate continuum of care throughout all the phases of the 
rehabilitation process. Hence, excluding few exceptions nationwide, 
rehabilitation outcomes are typically unsatisfactory for the patients 
albeit expensive to the system. Biorobotics i.e., a melting pot of 
technologies spanning from bioengineering to robotics, including 
artificial intelligence, controls, sensors, smart materials etc., has 
been proposed as an appealing option to improve the clinical outcome of 
physical rehabilitation and personal care treatments in a sustainable 
manner. This because of the unique combination of features offered by 
robots: they host sensors and computational reasoning to understand and 
decipher environmental or patients’ intentions, and they have physical 
bodies that do actions in response to such reasoning. In turn, 
rehabilitation robots could offer patient-specific physical treatments, 
by performing repetitive movements, automatically adapting to evolving 
conditions, and could do this continuously, and both in parallel and 
individually. Robotic prostheses or exoskeletons seamlessly controlled 
and felt by the individual could efficiently restore lost or weak 
locomotion or prehensile functions, improving the patient autonomy.

Place: Medical Robotics Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering and 
Information Technologies, University of Naples, Italy

Contacts
For any doubt or questions, please contact Prof. Fanny Ficuciello 
(fanny.ficuciello at unina.it).

Best regards,
Fanny Ficuciello