UCD - Beacon Hospital Collaborative Research Seed Funding Grant 2024 Awarded to Two Projects
University College Dublin (UCD) and Beacon Hospital have established two distinct seed grants of €20,000 each to foster pioneering research collaborations. This funding aims to support innovative research initiatives across high-impact areas such as cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, physiotherapy, and other emerging fields of interest. By leveraging UCD’s academic excellence and Beacon Hospital’s clinical expertise, this investment will address urgent healthcare challenges and improve patient outcomes through cutting-edge research and development.
We are thrilled to received 13 outstanding submissions, ultimately awarding the UCD - Beacon Grant to two exceptional projects. We extend our warmest congratulations to both the project leads and their teams within UCD and Beacon Hospital for their successful projects.
UCD - BEACON HOSPITAL COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH SEED FUNDING GRANT 2024 AWARDEES:
Enhancing clinical reasoning in pain science education using virtual reality technology
Project Team:
Dr Sinead McMahon, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science
Dr Brona Fullen, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science
Eimear O’Brien Physiotherapy, Beacon Hospital
Anthony Pierce Physiotherapy, Beacon Hospital
About the project:
‘This collaboration will leverage immersive technology (Virtual Reality VR) to enhance interprofessional learning in pain science and management. Physiotherapy and Medical students on placement in the Beacon hospital will engage in immersive VR-based education followed by facilitated case based discussion where they will practice clinical reasoning and communication skills required to assess pain. A mixed method approach using validated questionnaires, MCQ and focus group discussion will evaluate knowledge, clinical reasoning, utility and acceptance of VR. This project provides a collaborative learning opportunity that maps to UCD CHAS key research and education strategies. UCD in collaboration with the Beacon hospital, renowned for its excellence in modern medicine, will advance innovation in health professional education. This collective effort using VR to improve clinical reasoning in pain science will enhance patient care and improve overall health outcomes’
Remote Healthcare Monitoring with Wearables
Project Team:
Prof David Burke Cardiology, Beacon Hospital
Dr Cailbhe Doherty, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science
About the project:
‘This 6-month prospective cohort study will use wearable devices to remotely monitor heart failure patients. By deploying consumer wearable devices (Polar a360), continuous biometric data—including heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, blood oxygen saturation, physical activity, and sleep—will be collected. An ‘integrated health index’ will be developed to correlate these metrics with patient-reported outcomes, acting as a proof of concept for the integration of wearable derived biometric data for disease management. This study aims to validate the practicality of wearables in real-world settings, with the potential long-term benefits of improving patient care, and informing public health policy.’