Scholarships for ideas that address challenges in healthcare

Every year, graduating students present their graduation projects at Utexpo, Halmstad University’s graduation fair. The fair attracts students, staff, the public and representatives from companies and organisations who are keen to discover the students’ ideas and innovations. Several organisations also award scholarships to recognise graduation projects that stand out.

One of the organisations taking part was Getinge Sterilization, one of Halmstad University’s strategic collaboration partners. The company’s CEO, Maria Ek, awarded scholarships for four graduation projects within the area health innovation.

“These are excellent projects that address important challenges in health and healthcare in different ways. What they have in common is high scientific quality, clear clinical relevance and a commitment to turning knowledge and innovation into solutions that can make a real difference to both patients and healthcare professionals”, said Maria Ek at the scholarship ceremony.

Early warning could reduce the risk of complications

Ebba Bjervner and Mariam Lamaa, from the Programme in Innovation Engineering, received Getinge Sterilization’s largest scholarship of SEK 50,000 for their project CVC SafeWatch.

“We have developed a concept that combines sensor technology and digital monitoring to detect infections and other complications at an early stage in patients with central venous catheters”, explains Ebba Bjervner.

A central venous catheter (CVC) is a thin plastic tube that is inserted into a large blood vessel in the neck or below the collarbone. It is used during long-term cancer treatment, in intensive care or when repeated blood samples are needed. The students developed the solution in collaboration with patients, relatives and healthcare professionals, and it has the potential to improve patient safety and make healthcare more efficient

Innovation for acute healthcare situations

In close collaboration with emergency healthcare services in Region Halland, Sammi Kuqi and Yashar Asadzadeh, from the Programme in Innovation Engineering, have developed the medical technology prototype TemTaris. The project was carried out on behalf of ExAC AS, a Norwegian medical technology company, and was awarded a SEK 30,000 scholarship.

“As the project is confidential, we cannot reveal any details about the prototype. However, we can say that it is expected to support and ease the work of emergency healthcare professionals by contributing to safer and more efficient care in acute and time-critical situations”, says Yashar Asadzadeh.

Examined the effects of red-light therapy

Can red light therapy speed up recovery after physical exercise? This was the focus of Mikael Dabrowski’s graduation project in the Master’s Programme in Exercise Biomedicine – Health and Performance, for which he received a scholarship of SEK 10,000. In a systematic review of 23 randomised studies, he found that the treatment improved recovery after exercise in some cases, although the results varied between studies.

New insights into fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis

Freya Elderfield, a recent graduate of the Master’s Programme in Health and Lifestyle, received a scholarship of SEK 10,000 for her study on fatigue, also known as brain fatigue, in patients with long-term rheumatoid arthritis. By analysing data from 539 patients, she found that higher levels of fatigue were associated with more pain, poorer sleep, poorer health and reduced physical function in both men and women.

“My study also shows that women with higher levels of empowerment – the extent to which they feel they have the knowledge, control and ability to influence their health and manage their condition – experienced less fatigue. This could contribute to a better understanding of how patients can receive better support in healthcare”, says Freya Elderfield.

Text: Katarina Tran

Photo: Dan Bergmark