INTERNATIONAL AWARDS: GRANT "MARIE CURIE" FOR POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH AND TRAINING OFFERED TO BIOROBOTICS INSTITUTE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

The “BIREHAB: Increasing the robustness and neural integration of BIdirectional prostheses for REHABilitation with robust and real time Independent Component Analysis” project developed by Fiorenzo Artoni, postdoctoral research fellow at Sant’Anna School Biorobotics Institute, aims to design a new bionic hand, more robust and reliable: the prosthetic hand’s most innovative features will be the ability to adjust positions to achieve multiple different grips.

The EU Marie Curie two-year grant will enable Fiorenzo Artoni to develop his research activity at Translational Neural Engineering Lab  (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), under the supervision of Silvestro Micera, bioengineer and neuroscientist.

Independent component analysis (ICA) has been applied to electroencephalographic (EEG) bio signal processing and brain-computer interfaces. The use of ICA is limited by multi-variate data requirements for convergence and for high-density data. Researchers will further study applications of ICA algorithm whitening for Blind Source Separation of high-density EEG data, and offering instantaneous incremental convergence upon presentation of new data.

Recording electromyography (EMG) signals is considered most useful to understand the human body's behaviors under normal and pathological conditions. EMG signals can be used to generate device control commands for rehabilitation equipment such as the robotic prostheses designed at the Biorobotics Institute (wearable exoskeleton which performs complex movements allowing the user to control multiple joints simultaneously).

“It is a great honor to have been awarded this grant - said Fiorenzo Artoni – I would like to thank the Biorobotics Institute that has made this award possible. As a Sant’Anna School student, PhD student and then postdoctoral fellow I had the opportunity to develop my project and to pursue my goal of becoming a scientist in this research institute”.