Researchers at the National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» are conducting research at the intersection of engineering, information technology, and medicine. Promising areas of research include the analysis of damaged tissues, modeling of healing processes, prosthetics, the study of how people with prosthetics walk, and systems for monitoring cardiovascular activity. Oleksiy Larin, Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and acting vice rector for Scientific Work at NTU «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute,» spoke about this in an interview with the media company «Dumka».
According to Oleksiy Larin, one of the most notable areas of current research at NTU «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» is the integration of engineering and medicine. These are comprehensive projects that combine IT, electronics, mechanics, computer modeling, and medical technologies. «These are interesting and very ambitious projects that really resonate with our European partners, who are also interested in this field. It’s the intersection of IT, electronics, mechanics, computer simulations, and medical applications,» the researcher noted. Among these research areas are technologies aimed at analyzing the condition of damaged tissues around a wound and predicting the development of necrosis, as well as computer modeling of processes related to the treatment and rehabilitation of patients. Prosthetics is a separate area of focus. Researchers are studying the mechanics and strength of prostheses, the kinematics of movement in people with prostheses, and, with the help of electronic systems, analyzing gait patterns. Such technologies can serve as a supportive tool for doctors and rehabilitation specialists, helping them assess patients’ mobility and the effectiveness of their recovery. «We have a wide range of research areas. From treating patients, analyzing damaged tissue around wounds, modeling these processes, predicting the development of necrosis, prosthetics procedures, prosthetic mechanics, the strength of prostheses, the kinematics of movement in people with prostheses, to studying gait patterns using electronic systems to help patients,» said Oleksiy Larin, Vice Rector of the National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» (NTU «KhPI»).
Another promising area is cardiovascular monitoring. Projects are being developed that enable real-time transmission of information about a patient’s condition to doctors. The idea is that this data can be used by medical professionals as an additional tool for monitoring and decision-making. In addition, NTU «KhPI» is working on solutions at the intersection of IT and psychology, particularly involving the use of artificial intelligence. This involves the creation of AI bots and intelligent agents that can assist in relevant fields. The university is paying particular attention to research related to the rehabilitation of veterans and people with severe injuries. According to Oleksiy Larin, among the new projects submitted by NTU «KhPI» for state funding, four directly address this topic. «We are currently taking this very seriously. And among them are four projects specifically related to working with veterans and those with injuries. These are applied research projects that we would like to carry out so that engineering science becomes useful to people, useful to medicine, helps veterans, shortens rehabilitation time, and speeds up their reintegration into society,» the scientist emphasized.
«We believe that technology should save lives, so we are working to ensure that engineering science benefits medicine and helps reduce the time needed for rehabilitation and reintegration into society,» said Oleksiy Larin, vice rector of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute. Some of the recent developments have already been successfully presented both in Ukraine and at international conferences abroad. In particular, at an international forum held in Kharkiv, researchers from NTU «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute», in collaboration with specialists from the M.I. Sitenko Institute, created and demonstrated high-tech models of lower-limb prostheses and technologies for modeling the processes occurring in the «bone–implant» system. In addition, the University Clinic of the National Technical University «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» provides free rehabilitation services to military personnel.
Overall, as Vice Rector Oleksiy Larin noted, this year NTU «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute» submitted 77 research projects for funding, totaling 110 million hryvnia. The results of the competitive selection process are expected to be announced in late November. The development of such research demonstrates how modern engineering science can directly address human needs—from the creation of new prosthetics and rehabilitation technologies to the use of artificial intelligence and digital monitoring of patients’ conditions.
Learn more about NTU «Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute’s latest scientific developments, artificial intelligence, and other university research in Oleksiy Larin’s full interview with the media outlet «Dumka.»
