RSI Represents at this year’s UofTMed Student Showcase

Every year, the Office of Advancement search for Faculty of Medicine students and trainees with innovative projects that can be turned into interactive exhibits and showcased in celebration of valued donors.

The event brought research and technologies to life through 11 interactive exhibits. Guests had the unique opportunity to try their hand at surgical skills, lacto-engineering, physiotherapy and more.

This year, RSI represented 3 out of those 11 exhibits including MSc student, Analyssa Cardenas, who was selected as runner up for one of the most interesting and innovative projects. Cardenas impressed guests with an exergame she developed that helps kids with cerebral palsy participate in physical activity after orthopaedic surgery.

The following projects were also on display by RSI students:

Charlotte Anderson
Rehabilitation Sciences, PhD

• Her work shows how physiotherapy treatments for the neck can help mitigate and eliminate post-concussion symptoms. She hopes physiotherapy can change the way we deal with concussions and neck care will be woven into regular care.

Sana Smaoui
Rehabilitation Sciences, PhD

• Through her research at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Smaoui is working to help patients with Dysphagia using a resistance trainer for the tongue. Patients apply pressure to the trainer with their tongue and work through exercises to help strengthen muscles. Smaoui hopes her research will improve quality of life and eventually allow patients to regain their ability to swallow.

 “Our trainees are giving us a glimpse of medicine’s future,” said Dean Trevor Young. “And the generosity of donors enables them to ask questions, create solutions and think big.”

Visit the Faculty of Medicine website for a full summary of all the featured projects!