Last Monday, June 22nd, the projects of two students of the School of Engineering - Tecnun were defended at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra the projects of two students of the School of Engineers - Tecnun.

Laura de Miguel, student of Degree in Biomedical Engineering, and Marina García Iriarte, student of Electrical Engineering, defended the projects entitled "design e implementación de un sistema de medida de movimiento respiratorio para pacientes de ORL" ( and implementation of a system to measure respiratory movement for ENT patients) and "Development and Clinical Evaluation of a Novel Optical Method to Detect and Measure Patient External Motion" (Development and Clinical Evaluation of a Novel Optical Method to Detect and Measure Patient External Motion). The two works were supervised by Dr. Secundino Fernández, Dean of the School of Medicine and consultant of the department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Clinic; and by Dr. Benigno Barbés, of the Hospital Radiophysics Service. The projects were developed during the second semester of academic year 2014-2015.

Relevant advances in the study of phonation and radiotherapy treatment.

The first work has allowed the development of a prototype to analyze breathing. This prototype allows to extract relevant information in the realization of programs of study of phonation and the respiratory cycle. This novel system has very important advantages over current diagnostic systems. As it is non-invasive for the patient, it generates a high level of comfort Degree , since it is only necessary to put on a T-shirt made of elastic and comfortable fabric, which does not restrict movement.

The system achieves natural breathing as the patient is in a comfortable posture, which can be standing or sitting.

Este desarrollo, combinado con unas cámaras comerciales de bajo coste aporta una información muy precisa: el error en el cálculo de distancias es <0.3 mm, muy por debajo de lo exigido. Además, se trata de una tecnología de fácil uso y muy económica (<1.000 €).

On the other hand, Marina Garcia worked on the application of this technology to ensure that patients undergoing radiotherapy maintain their position during treatment.

The project, which has been financed by Mutua Madrileña and with the partnership and financial aid of Dr. Javier Burgete, has allowed to improve the therapy to patients. As a result, a article has been generated and its publication has been accepted in the "Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics (JACMP)".

Committed to Biomedical Engineering

It is worth highlighting the University of Navarra's commitment to area from Applied Engineering to Medicine. Just over a year ago, the University of Navarra launched the Center for Biomedical Engineering (CBIO). The Center, headed by Tecnun, the Clinic and the CEIT partnership The Center, led by Tecnun, the Clinic and the University of Navarra, carries out applied research which, in close collaboration with the business fabric and together with the Schools and centers of the University of Navarra related to life sciences, is positioned as a reference in contributions to the improvement of human health and as the best place to train and develop professional practice in the field of Biomedical Engineering.