Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (CISA) and CIBM, proudly announce winning the University Hospital Geneva’s (HUG) and University of Geneva’s (UNIGE) prestigious “Innovation Award 2022”, for the project “A virtual classroom to help children with attention deficit disorder to regulate their attention” led by Dr. Frederic Grouiller and his team.
The persons, associated with this project, receiving this prestigious award are Carole Guedj, Rémi Tyrand, Emmanuel Badier, and Frédéric Grouiller from University of Geneva and Russia Hà-Vinh Leuchter from HUG (University Hospital Geneva).
Dr. Frederic Grouiller, a research staff scientist of the CIBM MRI UNIGE Cognitive and Affective Neuroimaging Section led this project involving state-of-the-art techniques. Under Dr. Grouiller’s leadership, his team of experts seek to create an alternative to medication for children with attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD). Children are trained to control their attention in a virtual classroom setting while attempting to fly a helicopter. Dr. Grouiller uses Electroencephalography (EEG) to assess in real-time the level of focus of the children, and the results are shown on the classroom whiteboard. The technique learned during this amusing exercise is subsequently put to use during academic tasks. Children can use the strategies they learnt in the virtual classroom in their actual classroom after the training. The effects of EEG-neurofeedback on the attention network were highlighted in a research with six children who did not have attention deficit disorder.
The project receiving this prestigious award, amongst the 17 finalists, is a testimonial of the translational research carried out at CIBM.
The HUG Private Foundation, the Innovation Center, the HUG’s Medical and Care Departments, and the Geneus & FONGIT incubators sponsored these awards for the further development of the projects.
The 16th Innovation Day of HUG and UNIGE took place on the 20th October 2022. The Innovation Day serves as a bridge between the healthcare, academic, and business worlds by showcasing the accomplishments of HUG and UNIGE to the private sector and general public.