BrainMap

Mrs. Anca Morar

PhD Eng

Associate Professor - UNIVERSITATEA NAȚIONALĂ DE ȘTIINȚĂ ȘI TEHNOLOGIE POLITEHNICA BUCUREȘTI

Researcher

Web of Science ResearcherID: 3534865/anca-morar/

Expertise & keywords

CultReal - Immersive virtual and augmented reality platform for cultural spaces Call name:
P_40_270 2019 - 2020

Role in this project: Project coordinator

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI (); INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE S.R.L. ()

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI ()

Project website: http://netio.ro/

Abstract:

Virtual and augmented reality technologies have known an impressive market evolution, due to their potential to provide immersive experiences. However, they still have significant difficulties to enable fully fledged, complex applications. In this context, CultReal is a rapid creating and deployment platform for augmented reality (AR), aiming to revitalize cultural spaces. The platform’s content management system stores a representation of the environment, together with a database of multimedia objects that can be associated with a location. The localization service fuses data from beacons and from video cameras and communicates with the platform by providing an accurate estimation of the position and orientation of the visitor’s smartphone. A mobile application running the localization service displays augmented content, which is seamlessly integrated within the real world.

3Diafano Tissue reconstruction and visualization based on NIR transillumination and 3D video cameras Call name:
UPB_GEX_01/26.09.2016 2016 - 2017

Role in this project: Project coordinator

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI ()

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI ()

Project website:

Abstract:

The project proposal addresses the field of CTI. The aim of the 3Diafano project is to develop an innovative, non-invasive, portable, cheap and fast medical imaging device, used in diaphanoscopy, 3D reconstruction and visualization of internal and external body structures. 3Diafano will offer a long-awaited alternative to other very expensive and difficult-to-use medical devices, such as CT, MRI or ultrasound. This solution will have a wide spectrum of use, both in clinical applications (identification of subcutaneous tumors, skin pathologies, etc.) and in forensic medicine (estimation of the postmortem interval, etc.).

Virtual Therapist with Augmented Feedback for Neuromotor Recovery Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1580 2014 - 2017

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE NEUROLOGIE SI BOLI NEUROVASCULARE (RO); INSTITUTUL NATIONAL DE RECUPERARE, MEDICINA FIZICA SI BALNEOCLIMATOLOGIE (RO); UNIVERSITATEA TEHNICĂ "GHEORGHE ASACHI" IAŞI (RO); OSF GLOBAL SERVICES SRL (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA DIN BUCURESTI (RO)

Project website: http://travee.upb.ro

Abstract:

TRAVEE (Virtual Therapist with Augmented Feedback for Neuromotor Recovery) will design, implement and validate an original and affordable IT system for recovery of patients with neuromotor impairments following strokes, traumas or brain surgery.

Stroke is the leading cause of long term disability in modern societies, with huge economical and social implications. Growing life expectancy accentuates the issues, leading to impossibility of decent care and rehab based only on human therapists. In this context, IT care and recovery solutions are of utmost importance for core functioning of modern societies.

TRAVEE relies on a brand new idea - recovery through augmented feedback - that creates new, distinct possibilities to overcome block stages typical to early recovery.

Neuromotor recovery relies on neuroplasticity (generic term covering various adaptive modifications of the cortex). The causal chain specific to recovery includes:

- motor act is performed or attempted, by the patient, with or without external help;

- patient observes sensations and results (visually, haptic or proprioceptive);

- patient's cortex associate the motor act with the observations and gradually learns and perfects the motor act.

Most techniques and systems for neuromotor recovery only pay attention to the motor act performance, neglecting the essentiality of observation. We consider that their limited success is due exactly to this conceptual simplification. TRAVEE brings a solution to handle the whole recovery causal chain, in a unified way. Its implementation will improve the number of recovery cases, the average recovery degrees and time, with major socio-economic impact.

To harness the potential of this idea, TRAVEE will employ modern technologies: virtual reality, robotics, BCI, EMG, FES, telemedicine, etc.

A patient's 3D virtual body model (VBM) will aggregate data from sensors for position, movement, central & peripheral nervous activity. VBM will be updated in real time and rendered to the patient on a screen or video glasses.

A therapy session consists in a task being given to the patient, his attempts to perform it and assistance from the system in various ways (augmented feedback, robotic support, functional electric stimulation, etc.) - based on a preconfigured program or under direct therapist's control.

Unlike robotics or FES, which are encountered in many approaches, feedback augmentation is an innovative feature of TRAVEE, consisting in its capacity to alter the representation of the VBM to allow the observation of modifications otherwise unobservable by the patient (e.g. very small moves can be represented enlarged to a degree that makes them perceivable by the patient; detected failed intentions of movement can be represented as small moves). In this way, the causal loop can be closed, avoiding blocking of recovery.

TRAVEE will develop also innovative methods for communicating with the target patients, one being its presentation as a virtual therapist, a concept new in this field, backed up by the medical specialists from the consortium, attractive and stimulating for the patients.

This project will develop a fully functional prototype and a library of training programs dedicated to early stages of recovery and validate them on a large number of patients. The prototype with the library will be submitted to the procedure for medical certification and subsequently commercialized as a package including hardware, software and medical procedures.

TRAVEE will embody in an affordable system, easy to install and use - in dedicated facilities or at homes (independent or through telemedicine).

The Consortium has a multi-disciplinary structure, with all essential complementary competencies required for the conception and development of TRAVEE as IT, medical and commercial system. TRAVEE is an original concept, with potential to turn into an affordable product improving neuromotor rehab, with exceptional socio-economic impact.

The Maps of Time. Real communities-Virtual worlds-Experimented Pasts Call name: Exploratory Research Projects - PCE-2011 call
PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0245 2011 - 2016

Role in this project:

Coordinating institution: Universitatea Nationala de Arte

Project partners: Universitatea Nationala de Arte (RO)

Affiliation: Universitatea Nationala de Arte (RO)

Project website: http://www.timemaps.net

Abstract:

The project proposes to redefine the relationship between art and science for a new, 21st century paradigm.

The project intends to reconstruct the memory of forgotten places, which will be shared with the local community and with virtual communities as well, thus helping preserve and safeguard the material and immaterial heritage.

We propose a new utilization of the mixed reality in urban and rural contexts by creating new mental maps, which will model human perception.

A Map of Time would be the memory of all the invisible places, of objects and gestures forgotten; it would be a Virtual World recovered. For every discovered location we intend to offer overlapped layers of information, to be accessed in the manner of an archaeological stratigraphy. Every user will explore and integrate in the overlapped Virtual Worlds at different reconstructed chronological levels.

The Maps of Time will help first their makers to recover the humane message of the Past, and later will help contemporary communities to redefine their identity.

One of the project’s important benefits and novel aspects is its beneficial social implications for the communities participating in it. A social aspect will be the creation of a cyberculture which will help the invisible rural communities to create their own virtual museums to promote their own identity and to develop a participatory tourism.

FILE DESCRIPTION	DOCUMENT
List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects