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Àngels López

A smartphone for detecting sleep apnea at home

The Biomedical signal processing and interpretation group at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has developed a portable, cheap and non-invasive system to detect obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) at home, a disorder characterized by recurrent airflow cessation during sleep. Researchers propose a novel method consisting of analyzing acoustic signals recorded with a smartphone.

Sleeping, like breathing, is an action that we all undertake throughout our whole lives. Sleep, which represents more than 25% of our time, is the body’s natural state of rest and an important factor of self-regulation. However, several diseases can affect sleep quality, leading to symptoms of varying severity.

Un teléfono inteligente para detectar la apnea del sueño en casa

El grupo de Procesamiento e interpretación de señales biomédicas del Instituto de Bioingeniería de Cataluña (IBEC) ha desarrollado un sistema que permitiría diagnosticar de manera económica, fiable y no invasiva la apnea obstructiva del sueño (AOS), un trastorno del sueño que se caracteriza por el cese recurrente del flujo de aire durante el sueño. Los investigadores proponen un novedoso método consistente en el análisis de señales acústicas registradas con un teléfono inteligente.

Dormir, igual que respirar, es una acción que realizamos a lo largo de nuestras vidas. El sueño, que representa más del 25 % de nuestro tiempo, es el estado natural de descanso del cuerpo y constituye un factor importante para su autorregulación. Sin embargo, existen varias enfermedades que afectan a la calidad del sueño y que pueden producir síntomas de distinta gravedad.

IBEC launches a challenge at the 2nd Innovation Days

Last 9th November 75 participants from different fields participated in the 2nd edition of the Innovation Days (i-Days) organised by EIT Health. Thirty-two locations around Europe hosted the i-Days and for the second time in a row, IBEC was involved in many parts of the workshop held in Barcelona.

I-Days promote health innovation among university students through one-to-two-day programmes held at academic institutions around Europe. Students receive an introduction to practical health innovation tools and work in multidisciplinary teams to tackle real life health challenges posed by EIT Health projects, local organisations and private corporations. The event counted with inspirational speakers and coaches that introduced students to practical tools in innovation, design thinking and pitching ideas.

IBEC signs an agreement with MICIU to acquire a Mask Aligner

Thanks to the signing of the agreement between the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, the Mask Aligner equipment located in the Microfab and Microscopy Characterization Facilities will be renewed. This acquisition, scheduled for the first quarter of 2020, will be co-financed by the FEDER of the 2014-2020 multiregional operational program in Spain.

IBEC featured at the TV program “Five days at…”

The show “5 days at…” is a TV documentary series at the national television that approaches the everyday life of very diverse places: monuments, hotels, schools, sports facilities… and now was the time for the sciens environment to take over the TV. The program takes place at the Barcelona Science Park, where IBEC is headquartered.

Predoctoral researcher at the Research Group Nanobioengineering

Application Deadline: 15/12/2019
Ref:PhD-JS

The Nanobioengineering group at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) is looking for a Predoctoral researcher.

We offer an interesting and challenging job in an international and interdisciplinary environment. We encourage suitably qualified candidates to apply for a position funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie project “EVIDENCE” within the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union, starting on January 2020. The appointment will be on a temporary basis for a maximum period of 3 years (PhD student) and will be placed at the Nanobioengineering group of IBEC (Barcelona, Spain).

EVIDENCE is a four-year project, funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Programme (MSCA-ITN-2019) under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Initial Training Network and Grant Agreement No. 860436. EVIDENCE is the exploration of the properties and behaviour of RBCs under flow conditions and in vivo to understand pathophysiology and to design novel diagnostic devices. EVIDENCE engaged in with the ambition to educate and train students within and across different scientific disciplines: biophysics (electrophysiology), biochemistry (membrane biology, metabolism), biomedical science (e.g., expansion and differentiation of erythroblasts), bioengineering and cell biology (organ on a chip), clinical research and diagnostics, with SME.

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