The María Cano University Foundation, Popayán headquarters, made an outstanding participation in the IV Meeting on Innovation and Competitiveness Management (GIC-2024). This event, organized by the SENA Regional Cauca in alliance with the Government of Cauca and the ASIES Cauca research group, aims to promote the circulation of knowledge and the social appropriation of the results of research, development and innovation (R&D +i) in the department.

The SIBITEC research hotbed (made up of third-semester physiotherapy students from the Popayán campus) assigned to the FISIOTER group of the María Cano University Foundation and directed by professors Elizabeth Roldán González and Carlos Alberto Muñoz Ardila, through coordination with the Professor Jhon Alexander Guerrero of the Comfacauca University Corporation, presented two important research projects in presentation and poster format.

«Biomecapp» is an initiative aimed at evaluating fear of movement after an injury, using augmented reality to record degrees of movement and systematizing a test on a website designed to offer a friendly and useful experience for both health professionals and patients. This project was presented by the students Leidy Milena Cuayal, Alejandro Figueroa and Javier Alejandro Miller, who managed to capture the attention of the attendees with their excellent presentation, mastery of the topic, technological approach and its potential to improve the approach and adherence in rehabilitation processes. from physiotherapy.

The other project is MANTRA: a mechatronic device focused on hand rehabilitation in people with mobility disorders, its base made of wood with two supports for the forearm and hand, in which the actuators (servomotors) that produce the movement in a fluid and controlled manner; The microcontroller connects to the mobile device via Bluetooth, allowing interaction and programming of movement ranges and speeds, becoming a functional, economical prototype with great projection to continue its path of advancement on the scale of technological maturity. The project was presented by the students Karol Sofía Pino Nieto and Angie Natalia Ruiz Bravo, who also effectively demonstrated the operation of their prototype, in addition, they skillfully responded to questions from the public, which highlighted their participation and recognized the progress in the system control and performance, as well as the usefulness of the prototype in the complex hand rehabilitation processes. The teachers participated as Peer Evaluators of other proposals presented at the event.

The participation of the María Cano University Foundation in this event not only reinforces its commitment to research and innovation in health, but also makes visible the talent of students and teachers, their ability to contribute to the development of solutions that positively impact the community. We are #MásMaríaCano