Design for Health Research Group

The Skoliosetreff 2025 was an inspiring and unforgettable weekend held from September 12-14 at the Hurdal Syn- og Mestringssenter, bringing together children with scoliosis and their families for connection, learning, and empowerment. Organized by the skoliosegruppa in collaboration with Ryggforeningen i Norge, this event provided a unique platform for our Design for Health research team at OsloMet to host an engaging workshop exploring innovative future solutions for scoliosis care. Heartfelt thanks go to Mette Fløystad Kvammen and Olaug Jørg from Ryggforeningen for their incredible support, as well as A/Prof Nenad Pavel for his expert facilitation. We are also immensely grateful to our dedicated PhD students, Kamila Sykorova and Anna Matthew, and Prof. Parisa Gazerani, whose thoughtful planning made this workshop a success, along with our talented design students who added their creative touch. Most importantly, we extend our deepest gratitude to the children and their families for their enthusiasm and invaluable input — your voices and perspectives drive our mission to create meaningful solutions for scoliosis patients everywhere!

Call for Expression of Interest to develop a joint application to the EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action European Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme

OsloMet invites interested researchers of any nationality, fulfilling the eligibility requirements for the fellowship, to express their interest in developing an application for a two-year project at OsloMet, funded by the Marie Skłodowska Curie European Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025 (Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF-01-01). 

Read more and apply here >>

We want to take a moment to express our gratitude for the phenomenal opportunity to showcase our work on VR-Hab, a project focused on the needs and opportunities of VR-based home rehabilitation for stroke patients. This presentation was a collaborative effort between A/Prof Nenad Pavel, Post-doctoral dr Trust Saudi, doctoral student Ann Marie Hestetun-Mandrup, CTO Markus Haraldseid, CCO Elise Rimer from Fornix and the wonderful department head Ingvild Kristina Hurum Rosseland from Oslo Municipality and Åker hospital. You can find the details of our presentation here.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our entire team for their relentless work and dedication. Special mention to Ingvild Kristina Hurum Rosseland, the department head at Oslo Municipality / Aker University Hospital, and her remarkable clinical team for their significant contributions to this project. Their expertise and hard work have been instrumental in driving this amazing project forward. We look forward to continuing our great work and making strides in the field of home rehabilitation.

Recently, we had the incredible opportunity provided by CAPES to spend time researching at UNESP Brazil, Bauru, where they focused on developing research in Virtual Reality (VR) and arm prosthesis design. In addition to the research, we also had the privilege of imparting knowledge on design thinking, participatory design, and the critical role of patient involvement in the co-production of services. This hands-on experience, coupled with the chance to teach and learn, was a deeply enriching journey. We extend our heartfelt appreciation to our Brazilian colleagues for their invaluable contributions, engaging discussions, and wonderful cooperation that made this exchange a truly rewarding experience. We look forward to more such international collaborations that foster knowledge exchange and innovation in health design.

In a recent rendezvous, the Design for Health Research Group had a fruitful exchange with peers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). The meeting, held at Singapore General Hospital, was teeming with thought-provoking conversations around a cutting-edge concept: leveraging Virtual Reality (VR) to transform care for cancer and stroke patients. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who joined this enlightening dialogue, contributing to a successful meeting that offered new insights and exciting possibilities in the realm of healthcare technology.

On June 25th, the Design for Health Research Group had a productive meeting at Sunnaas Hospital. The Sunnaas TestBed presented its projects, sparking interest in potential collaborations in designing assistive technologies. Areas of focus included ergonomic and user-oriented design of bionic equipment and destigmatizing assistive technologies through aesthetics and semantics. The Research Group also shared about their ongoing projects and discussed potential innovation projects, including the development of a Sunnaas innovation week. This proposed initiative would involve Sunnaas employees, students, and patients in a collaborative effort to address challenges and seek solutions, potentially leading to future research and innovation applications. The meeting also covered potential involvement of PhD Koray Canlar in the organization of the innovation week and Trust Saidi’s postdoctoral involvement in implementing new Sunnaas equipment. The discussions opened doors for future collaborations and innovations, underlining the importance of user involvement in practice-based maker projects.