Join me, Serena Ivaldi, at the 2021 IEEE Women in Engineering International Leadership Conference (WIE ILC)!

Serena Ivaldi 

Research Scientist (tenured), INRIA 

From humanoid robotics to exoskeletons for helping the medical staff in the ICU during COVID-19

At the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Hospital of Nancy contacted me to get help with their situation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The medical staff was exhausted by the number of Prone Positioning Maneuvers that were executed daily as part of the treatment of patients with severe ARDS. Thanks to my expertise in humanoid simulation, exoskeletons and ergonomics, I identified that back-support exoskeletons could be helpful in this situation. I rapidly set the ExoTurn project, a collaboration between the Hospital, my team and INRS (French public institute for health and safety at work) to provide the medical staff with the right exoskeleton that could physically assist them in their tasks. In 10 days we designed and conducted a pilot study, then selected a candidate exoskeleton to be used in the ICU. Not only our solution helped in the first wave of the pandemic (April 2020) but it was also quickly adopted in the second wave (October - November 2020). In this talk, I will present the research that have been doing in humanoids control, human simulation, ergonomics and exoskeletons that was instrumental for ExoTurn.

Our History

IEEE Women in Engineering International Leadership Conference

Launched in 2014, the IEEE Women in Engineering International Leadership Conference (IEEE WIE ILC) provides professional women in technology, whether in industry, academia, or government, the opportunity to create communities that fuel innovation, facilitate knowledge sharing and provide support through highly interactive sessions designed to foster discussion and collaboration. IEEE WIE ILC focuses on providing leading-edge professional development for mid to senior-level women.

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