Research Engineer (M/F) – Development and Validation of an Innovative Technological Solution in Healthcare

Job Description

Missions

Develop a web-based tool designed for healthcare professionals and patients, tailored for clinical use in the rehabilitation of motor or language disorders. The successful candidate will play a key role in the technical design and development of the prototype.

Activity

Technological Development
- Design the technical architecture of the web application using Symfony.
- Integrate existing technological components (including from MATLAB for automated video stimulus transformation).
- Develop new features:
*Automatic selection of videos from a database (based on clinical criteria and prior knowledge).
* Automated and personalized video editing.
* Summary of selections for practitioner validation.
* Secure delivery of sessions to patients.
* Capture and recognition of patient responses (voice/manual).
* Automated performance evaluation and report generation.
* Recommendation for video/protocol adjustments based on results.
* Develop a responsive, secure, and clinically adapted web application prototype.
- Provide comprehensive technical documentation.

Technical Coordination
- Liaise with the scientific lead, the clinical and academic partners and the external service providers (if applicable).
- Participate in project follow-up meetings.
- Provide regular progress reports.

Expected Deliverables
- A functional web application prototype enabling:
Automatic generation of personalized training sessions based on point-light display observation, tailored to patient data (age, gender, pathology, etc.) and predefined parameters. Each session will include:
*Clear instructions to guide the patient.
*A series of point-light displays to be viewed for a set duration.
*Response time after each stimulus, allowing the patient to provide an oral or manual response.
*Formalization of selections (proposed stimuli, viewing time, response time) for practitioner validation or adjustment.
*Secure delivery of sessions to designated patients.
*Collection of patient responses (vocal or manual).
-*Automated evaluation of patient responses based on defined criteria.
* Generation of a simple graphical report and a concise summary (1-2 sentences) of patient performance.
*Secure transmission of the report to the practitioner.
* Recommendations for protocol adjustments for subsequent sessions, based on patient performance analysis.
- Comprehensive technical documentation

Your Profil

Skills

Technical Skills
- Web Development Framework (Symfony)
- MATLAB proficiency (adaptation and automation of functions)
- Responsive interface development
- Design of self-adaptive systems (to evolve system proposals, particularly based on practitioner feedback)
- Prototype development

Desirable Skills
- Knowledge of cybersecurity
- Familiarity with medical device regulations
- Basic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI)

Personal Qualities
- Autonomy
- Methodological rigor
- Innovative mindset
- Ability to work at the interface between research and valorization

Your Work Environment

Context
As part of a pre-maturation project funded by the CNRS, the CeRCA (Center for Research on Cognition and Learning) aims to develop an innovative healthcare technology based on research in movement science. The team has already designed a web platform and tools to facilitate the use of point-light displays in research (see https://plavimop.prd.fr/en/). The project's next objective is to create a web-based tool for healthcare professionals and patients, tailored for clinical use in the rehabilitation of motor or language disorders.

The Laboratory
CeRCA (Center for Research on Cognition and Learning) was established in January 2008 and is co-directed by Christel Bidet-Ildei, Professor at the University of Poitiers, and Badiâa Bouazzaoui, Research Engineer at the University of Tours, as Deputy Director. CeRCA is a Joint Research Unit of the University of Poitiers, the University of Tours, and the CNRS, comprising approximately 50 permanent members (CNRS researchers, faculty, technical and administrative staff) and 40 contractual members (PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, contract lecturers, and temporary staff). The team is primarily based at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société in Poitiers and the Tanneurs campus of the University of Tours, with some members also located at the Psychology Department or Henri Laborit Hospital in Poitiers.
CeRCA's core mission is to conduct fundamental research to better understand the cognitive and social mechanisms that characterize individuals. These mechanisms are studied in relation to individual characteristics (age, gender, abilities) and environmental factors (social aspects, task demands). Additionally, CeRCA's research addresses key societal challenges, including: Education (school inequalities, the role of digital technology in learning), Health (supporting diagnosis and management of motor, cognitive, or psychiatric disorders; preserving autonomy) and Work (gender inequalities, human-artificial system collaboration).

Host Team: Interactions – Sensorimotor and Communication
The Interactions: Sensorimotor and Communication team focuses on the coordination of sensorimotor and cognitive processes to generate the most adaptive actions, considering both individual characteristics and stimulus properties. Specifically, the team aims to study and optimize the perceptual, decision-making, and motor processes that enable interaction with physical/technological and social environments.

The Project
The proposed position is part of the OBSERVACT project (Observation of Actions for Rehabilitation and Learning), which aims to develop a web application based on action observation. This tool will provide a unique solution for digital health, supporting the rehabilitation of motor or language disorders through personalized follow-up and home-based exercises between practitioner-led sessions.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

Monthly gross salary between €3,143.64 and €4,816.31, depending on experience

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

The research professions