On Friday, March 1, 2024, the final event of the third edition of Capstone Projects, a course taught by Prof. Simona Ferrante from the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering in collaboration with companies to strengthen the education of MSc students in Biomedical Engineering, was held at the Politecnico di Milano.

The seven companies involved, Tecnobody, GE, Fondazione Alfieri per il Cuore, IRCCS Maugeri, Dialybrid, STMicroelectronics, and Adamo, proposed one or two project themes to nine groups of students selected from the best in the course. The students, supervised by a corporate mentor and an academic mentor, then developed the project to the creation of the final prototype, which was presented at the event.

In particular, the following projects stood out in this year's edition.

GRABBIT, realized in collaboration with TecnoBody, won the Best Pitch Award. The project aimed to develop a sensorized object for tele-rehabilitation of the upper limb. The prototype included the ergonomic mechanical design of the object itself and integrated inertial and pressure sensors to measure hand movements and the force generated by each finger. GRABBIT also offers a graphical interface for the clinician and an exergame to make physiotherapy engaging for the patient.

STEP QUEST VR, implemented in collaboration with IRCCS Maugeri, won the Best Digital Innovation Award. The project aimed to develop a virtual reality application for gait rehabilitation in neurological patients, thanks to therapist-mediated modulation of facilitators and distractors, which can even act on psychological aspects, switching from everyday life scenarios to scenarios that test one's fears.

DRAIN TRAIN, carried out in collaboration with Fondazione Alfieri per il Cuore, won the Best Prototype Award. The project aimed to develop a physical prototype that can be used as a simulator to train operators in the pericardiocentesis procedure under echocardiographic guidance, including the identification and management of its complications.

ICloneME, made in collaboration with TecnoBody, received an award as the most appreciated project during the event. ICloneME aimed to develop an algorithm to construct a 3D avatar from a series of RGB-D images of a person, acquired from a fixed camera. The images are aligned, first with a rigid registration, and then with a non-rigid deformation, to create an avatar as faithful as possible to the subject, which can then be used to make tele-rehabilitation more personalized and engaging.