The SMART Suit, an innovative health technology project involving University of Liverpool designers, has made the shortlist for The Engineer’s Collaborate To Innovate (C2I) Awards.
The SMART Suit is a first of its kind exoskeleton suit to help young people with disabilities use their arms and upper body.
Liverpool design researcher Dr Farnaz Nickpour and her team at the Inclusionaries Lab are working with Duchenne UK (DUK) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK (SMA UK) to develop the transformative assistive device which will support and enhance upper body movement in children and young people living with progressive neuromuscular diseases.
The project, which is supported with £1.25M from the People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund, is an ambitious and innovative assistive technology design project with the potential to improve quality of life for a wide range of people living with neuromuscular diseases and disabilities.
It aims to give people living with Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a progressive muscle-wasting disease which typically affects young boys, back their strength, independence and dignity.
The C2I awards which celebrate the UK’s depth of engineering and design talent and the role that engineers and designers are playing in addressing some of the biggest challenges we face. The Smart Suit is shortlisted in the Healthcare & Medical category.
The competition is judged by some of the leading figures in UK engineering and supported by organisations including Babcock International Group, Science and Technology Facilities Council, EPSRC, EngineeringUK, Megger, Hays Recruitment, Igus, and Ejot.
Winners will be announced at a special ceremony on Thursday 29th February 2024.