BrainMap

Mr. MARIAN-SILVIU POBORONIUC

Professor

Professor - UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI

Curriculum Vitae (09/01/2017)

Expertise & keywords

HYBRID BCI-EXOSKELETON SYSTEM FOR UPPER LIMB REHABILITATION Call name: P 1 - SP 1.1 - Proiecte de cercetare pentru stimularea tinerelor echipe independente
PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-1753 2020 - 2022

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: http://hbes.ieeia.tuiasi.ro/

Abstract:

The HBES project proposes an integrated solution prototype for interactive sequential neuromotor recovery in the upper limb. Its main objective is to design and implement a BCI-driven exoskeleton&FES hybrid modular system for the upper limb that can identify the residual potential in patients with neuromotor deficiency due to central nervous system lesions and adapt their neuromotor recovery exercises to maximize the passive effects of the neuromor recovery process. The system combines a hybrid motor imagery (MI) and evoked potentials (EP) – based BCI, a wearable lightweight exoskeleton and a FES neurostimulator. The BCI system detects in real time the user’s movement intention by reading and interpreting the EEG signals. The user intentions are translated into control commands by the central processing system for the FES system and the 4DOF exoskeleton. Limited clinical tests are taken into account.

Intelligent mechatronic-textile gloves for hand rehabilitation in stroke Call name: P 2 - SP 2.1 - Proiect de transfer la operatorul economic
PN-III-P2-2.1-PTE-2019-0136 2020 - 2022

Role in this project: Partner team leader

Coordinating institution: MAGNUM SX S.R.L.

Project partners: MAGNUM SX S.R.L. (RO); UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO); SPITALUL CLINIC DE RECUPERARE (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: https://magsx.ro/docs/manutex/etape.html

Abstract:

The MANUTEX project aims to design, test and clinically validate a pair of intelligent textile-mechatronic gloves suitable for hand rehabilitation in stroke patients. The MANUTEX system includes a pair of textile gloves with embedded electrodes for electrical stimulation of the muscles, and a mechatronic system to guide the hand movements and providing also sensorial information, as well as an intelligent control accounting for the balanced control between the FES-induced movement and mechatronic guidance.

Applications of video image processing technologies for autonomous vehicles and traffic safety Call name: P 2 - SP 2.1 - Transfer de cunoaștere la agentul economic „Bridge Grant”
PN-III-P2-2.1-BG-2016-0236 2016 - 2018

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO); CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE ROMANIA SRL (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: http://www.safetymotive.tuiasi.ro

Abstract:

The present project proposes a cooperation through the knowledge transfer and internships in the field of image processing with applications in the automotive industry.Based on the expertise of the coordinator research team on image processing (detection of objects, of the eyes, of blinking, looking direction, or traffic signs and lanes or roads), it is intended to develop new algorithms or combination of algorithms for the detection of traffic signs, road margins, lanes, or driver fatigue, drowsiness or attention and their implementation on the technology available at the industrial partner or on modern technologies like System on Chip SoC that might be assimilated in the future. During the project development the master and PhD students will have combined stages of research in the university and design and development internships at the industrial partner facilities, after which, besides the objectives of knowledge transfer, will stimulate the insertion of graduates on the work market, by increasing their innovative and cognitive qualities.

INNOVATIVE GARMENTS WITH EMBEDDED ELECTRODES FOR FUNCTIONAL ELECTRICAL STIMULATION BASED REHABILITATION Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1498 2014 - 2017

Role in this project: Project coordinator

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO); SPITALUL CLINIC DE RECUPERARE (RO); MAGNUM SX S.R.L. (RO); RO-GALU PROD S.R.L. (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: http://www.novafes.tuiasi.ro

Abstract:

Electrical stimulation is a technique commonly used nowadays by physicians to treat patients who are affected by a dropped foot, walking impairment or upper limb disability caused by Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, spinal cord injury (SCI), Parkinson's disease (PD; significant learning effect of unstimulated walking after FES treatment) and other associated conditions where disability is due to problems in the brain or spinal cord.

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) consists in the stimulation of muscles by electrical impulses and it is a complex process with many physiological effects. FES uses various devices to produce muscle contractions by applying electrical pulses to a specific nerve through skin surface or implanted electrodes. In skin surface FES, electrodes placed over the nerve are connected by leads to a stimulator unit and may be triggered with a foot switch (e.g. correcting a drop foot in stroke patients). The main disadvantages related to the conventional electrodes used up-to-date are: employment of disposable electrodes; employment of electro-gel that can cause skin irritation; need for every day positioning of the electrodes; high price; safety is not always guaranteed; the conditions are not always optimal for a maximum effect.

NOVAFES aims at overcoming these shortcomings by developing innovative functional garments with textile electrodes for FES-based rehabilitation with the following advantages: (1) easiest positioning of the electrodes; (2) garment customization to fit the patient and avoid use of gels; (3) easy handling; (4) no skin irritation and local burns; (5) fully reusable textile electrodes, fully integrated in durable, easy care garments. For that purpose, different elastic electrically conductive yarns will be tested and then knitted into textile electrodes. The therapeutic socks and tights with embedded electrodes will be validated by clinical tests performed in a rehabilitation hospital.

Virtual Therapist with Augmented Feedback for Neuromotor Recovery Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1580 2014 - 2017

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE NEUROLOGIE SI BOLI NEUROVASCULARE (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE RECUPERARE, MEDICINA FIZICA SI BALNEOCLIMATOLOGIE (RO); UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO); OSF GLOBAL SERVICES SRL (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: http://travee.upb.ro

Abstract:

TRAVEE (Virtual Therapist with Augmented Feedback for Neuromotor Recovery) will design, implement and validate an original and affordable IT system for recovery of patients with neuromotor impairments following strokes, traumas or brain surgery.

Stroke is the leading cause of long term disability in modern societies, with huge economical and social implications. Growing life expectancy accentuates the issues, leading to impossibility of decent care and rehab based only on human therapists. In this context, IT care and recovery solutions are of utmost importance for core functioning of modern societies.

TRAVEE relies on a brand new idea - recovery through augmented feedback - that creates new, distinct possibilities to overcome block stages typical to early recovery.

Neuromotor recovery relies on neuroplasticity (generic term covering various adaptive modifications of the cortex). The causal chain specific to recovery includes:

- motor act is performed or attempted, by the patient, with or without external help;

- patient observes sensations and results (visually, haptic or proprioceptive);

- patient's cortex associate the motor act with the observations and gradually learns and perfects the motor act.

Most techniques and systems for neuromotor recovery only pay attention to the motor act performance, neglecting the essentiality of observation. We consider that their limited success is due exactly to this conceptual simplification. TRAVEE brings a solution to handle the whole recovery causal chain, in a unified way. Its implementation will improve the number of recovery cases, the average recovery degrees and time, with major socio-economic impact.

To harness the potential of this idea, TRAVEE will employ modern technologies: virtual reality, robotics, BCI, EMG, FES, telemedicine, etc.

A patient's 3D virtual body model (VBM) will aggregate data from sensors for position, movement, central & peripheral nervous activity. VBM will be updated in real time and rendered to the patient on a screen or video glasses.

A therapy session consists in a task being given to the patient, his attempts to perform it and assistance from the system in various ways (augmented feedback, robotic support, functional electric stimulation, etc.) - based on a preconfigured program or under direct therapist's control.

Unlike robotics or FES, which are encountered in many approaches, feedback augmentation is an innovative feature of TRAVEE, consisting in its capacity to alter the representation of the VBM to allow the observation of modifications otherwise unobservable by the patient (e.g. very small moves can be represented enlarged to a degree that makes them perceivable by the patient; detected failed intentions of movement can be represented as small moves). In this way, the causal loop can be closed, avoiding blocking of recovery.

TRAVEE will develop also innovative methods for communicating with the target patients, one being its presentation as a virtual therapist, a concept new in this field, backed up by the medical specialists from the consortium, attractive and stimulating for the patients.

This project will develop a fully functional prototype and a library of training programs dedicated to early stages of recovery and validate them on a large number of patients. The prototype with the library will be submitted to the procedure for medical certification and subsequently commercialized as a package including hardware, software and medical procedures.

TRAVEE will embody in an affordable system, easy to install and use - in dedicated facilities or at homes (independent or through telemedicine).

The Consortium has a multi-disciplinary structure, with all essential complementary competencies required for the conception and development of TRAVEE as IT, medical and commercial system. TRAVEE is an original concept, with potential to turn into an affordable product improving neuromotor rehab, with exceptional socio-economic impact.

A HYBRID FES-EXOSKELETON SYSTEM TO REHABILITATE THE UPPER LIMB IN DISABLED PEOPLE Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA-2011 call, Type 2
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2011-3.2-1109 2012 - 2016

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO); UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICA DIN CLUJ - NAPOCA (RO); SPITALUL CLINIC DE RECUPERARE (RO); SPITALUL CLINIC DE RECUPERARE (RO); PHYSIOMED APARATURA MEDICALA S.R.L. (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: http://www.exoslim.tuiasi.ro

Abstract:

Executive summary – Project title: A HYBRID FES-EXOSKELETON SYSTEM TO REHABILITATE THE UPPER LIMB IN DISABLED PEOPLE

The upper limb paresis is a frequent sequel of brain damage (e.g., after stroke). Hemiparesis is one of the most important predictors of long-term disability. Motor function of the affected arm can explain up to 50% of the variance in functional autonomy in stroke patients. Upper-limb rehabilitation systems have been designed for restoring the upper limb functions in individuals with disabilities resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke and muscle dystrophy. These systems are based either on functional electrical stimulation (FES) or rehabilitation robots and haptic interfaces.

Robotic devices, because of their programmable force-producing ability, can replicate some features of a therapist’s manual assistance, allowing patients to semiautonomously practice their movement training. Many haptic devices have been developed for upper-limb neurorehabilitation, but their widespread use has been largely impeded because of complexity and cost. Much more, such robotic devices are cumbersome and limit their use to a clinical environment.

The EXOSLIM project aims to design and build a lightweight hybrid FES-exoskeleton system to rehabilitate the upper limb in disabled people. The proposed system will target patients with neurodegenerative and genetic neuromuscular diseases and high level Spinal Cord Injury. The final aim is to develop an adaptable and modular exerciser device, which follows its user along the progression of the disease, sparing training time and allowing fast adjustment to new situations and using any residual control of the end-user, thus being suitable for long term utilization in daily activities. The novelty of the proposed upper limb rehabilitation system consists in its balanced control among FES muscle activation and the lightweight exoskeleton itself creating the premises for a better recovery of the upper-limb functions.

AN INTELLIGENT HAPTIC ROBOT GLOVE for the PATIENTS SUFFERING A CEREBROVASCULAR ACCIDENT Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA-2011 call, Type 1
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2011-3.1-0291 2012 - 2016

Role in this project: Partner team leader

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI (RO); UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO); UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA (RO); SPITALUL CLINIC DE RECUPERARE (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: http://www.ihrg.pub.ro

Abstract:

In the last decade, the scientific community has become increasingly interested in so-called Rehabilitation Robotics, a branch of the areas of Robotics and Mechatronics that addresses to the study of complex robotic systems aimed at the restoration of human functions for those people who haved suffered major trauma as a result of strokes and cerebrovascular diseases. A cerebrovascular stroke occurs when a blood vessel (an artery) that supplies blood to an area of the brain bursts or is clogged by a blood clot. As a result, the part of the body that is controlled by the affected area of the brain cannot function properly.Total loss or loss of range of motion, decreased reaction times and disordered movement organization create deficits in motor control, which affect the patient’s independent living.A key feature of our project is that subjects at any impairment level can repetitively practice and complete stereotyped movement patterns. Active retraining can positively shape the cortical reorganization associated with motor recovery following brain injury. This therapy involves intensive repetitive exercise of the more affected limb coupled with constraint of the opposite limb and results in positive cortical reorganization in the motor cortex.

This project deals with the design and development of an Intelligent Haptic Robot-Glove (IHRG) for the rehabilitation of the patients that have a diagnosis of a cerebrovascular accident (CVA).The IHRG is an exoskeleton that supports human hand and hand activities by using a control and virtual architecture for dexterous grasping and manipulation. This IHRG is a medical device that acts in parallell to a hand in order to compensate some lost function. In this project, a novel mechatronic approach for the development of an exoskeleton assistive hand is considered, integrating the mechanical structure, the sensory , the actuation system and the virtual and control system.

Strategic Alignment of Electrical and Information Engineering in European Higher Education Institutions (SALEIE) Call name:
527877-LLP-1-2012-1-UK-ERASMUS-ENW 2012 - 2015

Role in this project: Partner team leader

Coordinating institution: University of York

Project partners: University of York (RO); UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO)

Project website: http://www.saleie.co.uk/

Abstract:

The SALEIE project sets out to firstly explore and then provide models for ways in which Higher Education Institutions of Europe in the Electrical and Information Engineering disciplines can respond to current challenges.

FILE DESCRIPTION	DOCUMENT
List of research grants as project coordinator	Download (21.94 kb) 09/01/2017
List of research grants as partner team leader	Download (21.47 kb) 09/01/2017
List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects	Download (22.02 kb) 09/01/2017