European project to improve the monitoring of children with motor disorders
The European partnership aims to improve personalised prevention through new technologies and collaboration. This year, one of the four Swiss projects selected by the SNSF is the project ‘ENABLE’ (EvaluatioN of motor cApacities and telerehaBilitation in chiLdren with neuromotor disordErs). Stéphane Armand, Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery of the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine and Head of the kinesiology laboratory, will lead the Swiss component.
© Stéphane Armand
The European ENABLE project aims to improve the assessment and rehabilitation of children suffering from motor disorders related to neurological or neuromuscular diseases, such as cerebral palsy or various types of myopathies. Currently, these children must regularly undergo in-depth examinations in a clinical setting. Although these tests provide an accurate picture of the development of their motor skills, they are often long and expensive, and only provide an approximate picture of daily functional mobility. In addition, the therapies used to restore motor skills require frequent visits to healthcare centres, which places an additional burden on families.
To remedy these problems, the ENABLE project aims to develop a mobile application based on augmented reality technology and artificial intelligence that will make it possible to regularly assess children's motor skills in their usual environment. Health professionals will thus be able to easily monitor the progress of affected children and adapt their rehabilitation programmes according to these results. This application will also make life easier for children living with neuromotor disorders and their families by avoiding unnecessary travel and giving them the opportunity to exchange with medical teams based on the data collected by the application. This device will also enable the positive integration of parents as fully-fledged actors in the assessment and management of their child's motor disorders.
14 Mar 2025