Rehabilitation technology relocates to Biel

Using performance sport technologies, the Institute for Rehabilitation and Performance Technology improves the rehabilitation process for people who have suffered accidents or illness. This requires researchers to work closely with neuro-rehabilitation facilities. The institute was previously located on the site of the School of Engineering and Computer Science in Burgdorf. The relocation to Biel will now see the institute integrated into the Institute for Human Centered Engineering HuCE as the Laboratory for Rehabilitation Engineering. Focusing on med-tech and industrial automation, HuCE combines new research findings from various disciplines to develop innovative products and solutions in close cooperation with industry partners and hospitals. The existing productive collaboration will now be stepped up. Prof. Dr Thomas Niederhauser, Head of the Institute for Human Centered Engineering, is delighted by the decision to integrate rehabilitation technology in HuCE: “Working with Kenneth Hunt’s team has proven very fruitful in the past. The physical proximity means we’ll now be of even greater benefit to each other. I see huge potential for future projects.”

Cooperation with the SCI Mobility Laboratory (SCI: Spinal Cord Injury) in the area of personal transport options for people with limited mobility will also be stepped up. The two laboratories, which have collaborated closely on various projects in the past, such as the Trike Study, will now be located right next door to one another. “I’m sure the physical proximity will provide great inspiration in many areas. Informal chats often spark ideas and this kind of exchange will be even easier in future.” Other projects are already under way, including one that aims to develop a multifunctional trike that can also be used for rehabilitation purposes, and another that combines the Go-Tryke – developed in cooperation with the start-up Go By Yourself GBY – with functional electrical stimulation (FES).