The main topic discussed by the participants of the meeting of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute leaders and scientists, leaders of the Ukrainian Peace Council and deputies of the Kyiv City Council with representatives of the delegation of the non-profit medical organization Northwell Health and the public organization Ukraine Focus (both from the United States) was the establishment of partnerships and joint projects in the development and scientific and technological support of the Center for Prosthetics and Rehabilitation of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The meeting took place on November 10.
According to Volodymyr Yurchenko, head of the youth wing of the Ukrainian Peace Council, who initiated the meeting, the Ukraine Focus NGO, thanks to its leader, well-known public figure Brock Burman, constantly helps supply ambulances for the Ukrainian military and, in addition, provides significant assistance to our cities, especially those affected by the war. And Northwell Health has created the most developed network of healthcare facilities in New York State and is the largest provider of healthcare services there. Therefore, the discussion of cooperation in the field of medical rehabilitation of people who were seriously injured during the war was attended by experts who understand the problems and needs of organizing this work.
Vitaliy Pasichnyk, Vice-Rector for Research, presented the concept of the Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Center. The Center's planned activities include the development of its own and implementation of the best existing prosthetic technologies and practices of physical and psychological rehabilitation of war veterans, as well as their return to full life. The Center also trains and retrains specialists in this field, and develops a system for people with disabilities to acquire new professions and skills.
The Center for Prosthetics and Rehabilitation was founded by the university in cooperation with the Sikorsky Challenge Innovation Holding, the Kolo Charitable Foundation, Parashar Industries, the Bez Obmenzhen (No Limits) Center, and the U+ Center. The Ukrainian Peace Council and the International Public Organization "Council for Environmental Safety" are actively contributing to its development. It is planned that the Center will work as an RnD structure on the KPI site, i.e., it will develop primarily the scientific and engineering component of this business. Therefore, it is very important to build its work from the very beginning, taking into account the best foreign experience gained in the industry. Northwell Health specialists are ready to share their experience: Todd Goldstein, the company's director and associate vice president of 3D printing and innovation, spoke about the company's use of digital technologies and the creation of new, biologically compatible materials in the manufacture of prostheses and assured that information about them would be available to Kyiv Polytechnicians. In addition, the involvement of researchers working at Northwell Health's partner universities could be very fruitful.
Other areas of cooperation were also discussed, so Rector Mykhailo Zgurovsky suggested that the participants exchange contacts to organize further substantive communication and establish interaction between specialists in specific areas.
"Such projects are a real gem for the city and, in fact, its business card," Dinara Gabibullaieva, a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, said in a conversation with media representatives, "Therefore, we need to provide logistical support and assistance in organizing international support and disseminating information. We need to talk about it, and all this works best in cooperation, when each party is involved as much as possible."
Dmytro Stefanovych
Polytechnicians, representatives of the Ukrainian Peace Council and the Kyiv City State Administration met with the American NGO "Ukrainian Focus" at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
The parties discussed cooperation between Ukrainian and American specialists in the field of prosthetics, rehabilitation and regenerative medicine.