ETH Competence Center - Competence Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Science (RESC)

Open Opportunities

Flexible Wireless Sensing Node for Continuous Body Monitoring ETH Zurich Digital Circuits and Systems (Benini) Advancements in sensor technology, low-power mixed-signal/RF circuits, and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have enabled the creation of compact, cost-effective solutions for healthcare applications. A notable development in this field is the Body Sensor Network, which is designed to monitor the human body for healthcare purposes. Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering Bachelor Thesis, Internship, Semester Project

Continual Learning for Adaptive Hand Gesture Recognition with A-mode Ultrasound ETH Zurich Digital Circuits and Systems (Benini) Hand Gesture Recognition has gained significant attention in recent years due to its potential applications in various fields, including interaction with virtual environments (like the Metaverse), teleoperation, and prosthetic device control. Multiple sensing techniques can be employed for hand movement recognition, including vision-based sensors (cameras), mechanical sensors (e.g., IMUs), sEMG, and the more recent and increasingly popular Ultrasound (US). US enables high-spatial (submillimeter) and temporal (fraction of a millisecond) resolution imaging of deep musculoskeletal structures. While several studies [1], [2], [3] have used US for hand gesture recognition, challenges remain in ensuring robustness against factors like sensor shift, donning and doffing, varying muscle force, and interday use [4]. Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Information, Computing and Communication Sciences Bachelor Thesis, Master Thesis, Semester Project

Clinical investigation of the pathophysiology and reciprocal relationships between progressive disc degeneration and spinal (mal-) alignment ETH Zurich Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration (LDD) is estimated to affect 400M individuals worldwide annually, which causes pain and disability for the patients affected by it [1]. Continuous localized, and structural degeneration on multiple intervertebral disc (IVD) levels can progress to accumulated macroscopic deformities, manifesting in abnormal spinal curvatures, also known as Adult Spinal Deformities (ASD). LDD and spinal alignment are hypothesized to be closely interrelated, with specific alignment parameters showing mutual correlations with the degree of LDD [2]. Through analyzing longitudinal data - including X-ray-derived biplanar alignment parameters and MRI-based Pfirrmann grading - this study aims to identify extensive patterns between alignment characteristics and the individual degenerative state of lumbar IVDs. Such insights could improve our understanding of degenerative cascades and influence decision making in clinical treatment approaches by identifying alignment profiles at higher risk for degeneration. The proposed study includes a clinical cohort of degenerative lumbar back pain patients who were treated conservatively, and followed up over a period of 3-5 years, before eventually undergoing surgery at Schulthess Clinic Zurich. This project is jointly supervised by an interdisciplinary group of researchers and clinicians of ETH Zurich and Schulthess clinic Zurich, which offers insights into fundamental spinal research, as well as daily clinical practice. Your tasks will include data annotation, model development, and collaborative discussions of results, providing a comprehensive experience in interdisciplinary research. This project offers an excellent opportunity to engage in impactful research at the intersection of biomechanics, clinical practice, and data-driven modeling. Biomedical Engineering, Clinical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Engineering Bachelor Thesis, ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project

Safe RL for Robot Social Navigation ETH Zurich Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab Other organizations: Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, ETH Competence Center - ETH AI Center Developing a constrained RL framework for social navigation, emphasizing explicit safety constraints to reduce reliance on reward tuning. Engineering and Technology Master Thesis

Bridging RL-based Robot Navigation & Crowd Simulation ETH Zurich Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab Other organizations: Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, ETH Competence Center - ETH AI Center Designing a crowd simulator for realistic human-robot interactions, enabling RL agent training in social navigation tasks. Engineering and Technology Master Thesis

MICRO-MULTI-PHYSICS AGENT-BASED MODELLING OF THE TRABECULAR BONE RESPONSE TO ESTROGEN DEPLETION ETH Zurich Müller Group / Laboratory for Bone Biomechanics The proposed project will investigate the trabecular bone response to estrogen depletion and will be used to investigate the probability of the chosen mechanism of action for estrogen. The chosen mechanism of action will be validated using available experimental reference data. Biomechanics, Programming Techniques Bachelor Thesis, Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project

Temporal Graphical Modeling for Understanding and Preventing Autonomic Dysreflexia ETH Zurich Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab Other organizations: ETH Competence Center - Competence Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Science (RESC), Sensory-Motor Systems Lab This project will be based on the preliminary results obtained from a previous master project in causal graphical modeling of autonomous dysreflexia (AD). The focus of the extension would be two-fold. One is improving the temporal graphical reconstruction for understanding the mechanism of AD. The other one is building a forecasting framework for the early detection and prevention of AD using the graph structure we constructed before. Please refer to the attached document for more details about the task description. Based on the candidate's qualifications, funding/allowance can be provided. Artificial Intelligence and Signal and Image Processing, Autonomic Nervous System ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project

Assessing the Effect of 3D-printed Orthotic Shoes on OA Patients' Knee Kinematics during Walking ETH Zurich Clinical Movement Biomechanics We are looking for a self-motivated Master student to work with us on this exciting project (as her/his Master thesis, semester/internship project). Here, we plan to test the effect of our novel orthotic shoes on OA patients' knee kinematics, especially the contact pattern of joint cartilage during level walking, using VICON and dual-plane fluoroscopy system. The ultimate goal is to provide us with fundamental indications on the design of orthotic shoes for knee osteoarthritis individuals. Biomechanical Engineering, Biomechanics, Motor Control, Rehabilitation Engineering ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Internship, Master Thesis, Semester Project

Evolve to Grasp: Learning Optimal Finger Configuration for a Dexterous Multifingered Hand ETH Zurich Robotic Systems Lab Use evolutionary algorithms with analytical force closure metrics to learn the optimal morphology of a dexterous hand. Intelligent Robotics Master Thesis, Semester Project

Learn to Reach: Collision Aware End-Effector Path Planning & Tracking using Reinforcement Learning ETH Zurich Robotic Systems Lab Other organizations: ETH Competence Center - ETH AI Center Develop a method for collision aware reaching tasks using reinforcement learning and shape encodings of the environment Intelligent Robotics ETH Zurich (ETHZ), Master Thesis, Semester Project