Today we heard from Saioa, our contact with the Bilbao school of engineering, about her research project. Her project is working with patients recovering from a stroke, to measure the improvements and the ability of these patients balance. The research group Oreka-Balance project is doing this by using a platform fitted with different sensors to detect the force a patient exerts on the ground when they are trying to balance. This is important to understand as ideally a person exerts the exact same amount of weight on each foot without leaning forwards or backwards. So this innovative technology allows researchers and clinicians to see with extreme precision and accuracy just how the patient is balancing. Then from there the physicians can create a treatment plan and assess how the patient is recovering.
I truly loved hearing from Saioa about her research, as her passion for this topic was evident in her presentation. The part that was most impressive to me was that this project was done almost excusively by her team. Meaning that the physical creation of the prototype was done by the researchers in the Oreka-Balance project. Also that the prototype has been patented in Spain!
We were then able to hear from Dr. Borovetz about his research in pediatric heart devices and more about Pitt as a school. I loved his presentation and found it very engaging as it directly relates to something I want to be a part of. He explained the Artificial Heart Program (AHP) at Pitt, and in fact that program is one of the reasons I decided to come to Pitt. From hearing him talk about the hands-on work done by students in this program and explain more about how the program works it solidified my want to work in this program. Also shout out to Dr. Borovetz for his contribution to the NY times article about this exact project!!
Later in the afternoon we visited the famous Guggenheim museum and see Puppy! I have seen pictures of the building many times but honestly the pictures truly do not do the building justice. It is genuinely an ingenious piece of architecture from Frank O’Geary. Inside the actual museum itself I think my favorite collection was the light room. In this room, essentially inside a box was a room full of mirrors and lights hanging from the ceiling. It was so cool and coloful! I also like how the museum had so many different types of art. From modern pieces to some pieces from the 15th century I liked seeing all the impressive pieces of art. Overall very engaging day and I can’t wait to visit the hospital on the coast tomorrow!
