PhD Researcher - PDTx

ETH Zürich is well known for its excellent education, ground‑breaking fundamental research and for implementing its results directly into practice.

The Singapore-ETH Centre was established in 2010 by ETH Zurich - The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF), as part of the NRF’s CREATE campus. As ETH Zurich's only research centre outside of Switzerland, the centre has strengthened the research capacity of ETH Zurich to develop sustainable solutions to global challenges in Switzerland, Singapore and the surrounding regions.

The centre serves as an intellectual hub for research, bringing together principal investigators and researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds. To promote the exchange of ideas and expertise, our researchers actively collaborate with universities and research institutes and engage with industry and government agencies to translate knowledge to practical solutions to real‑world problems.

Stroke remains a leading cause of disability worldwide. While improved early stroke response has reduced mortality, it has also led to a growing population of stroke survivors, increasing the demand for long‑term rehabilitation and placing significant clinical and economic burden on healthcare systems. The current neurorehabilitation model relies heavily on resource‑intensive, therapist‑led care to meet the growing demand, underscoring the need for scalable, cost‑effective solutions that extend into home settings.

To address this gap, the first phase of the Future Health Technologies Programme (FHT1) at the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) ((Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).) developed and piloted innovative upper limb rehabilitation technologies and evaluated them in a clinical context, both in the hospital and at the home of post‑stroke subjects. Building on this progress, FHT2 seeks to scale up these technologies and conduct more extensive clinical evaluation to promote integration of technology‑based clinic‑to‑home rehabilitation into Singapore’s healthcare system.

Specifically, one of our projects focuses on the development of a soft robotic hand orthosis to enhance upper limb rehabilitation sessions in the clinic and allow for additional task‑oriented training at home. A first version of the soft exoskeleton has been developed within FHT1 and a proof‑of‑concept trial demonstrated preliminary feasibility, with post‑stroke subjects using the rehabilitation device ever, adherence to home rehabilitation without therapist supervision and support can be challenging, ultimately affecting therapy dose.

In this project, we will complement the exoskeleton with an AI‑based digital health intervention, specifically an LLM‑based conversational agent that will deliver support via a companion mobile app. The app will serve as both the user interface for daily interaction and support and a digital platform for data collection, remote monitoring, and telerehabilitation.

Within this PhD project, the objective will be to (i) derive the key requirements for the design of the digital platform and the LLM‑based conversational agent (together with the input from end‑users and building on pre‑existing prototypes); (ii) iteratively develop the app and key interactive features (e.g., AI‑based conversational agent, motivational interviewing, etc.) including their validation; (iii) interface the app with the soft hand exoskeleton technology (developed by another PhD student) (data transfer, data interpretation, feedback provision);

and (iv) evaluate its impact on long‑term adherence to a technology‑supported rehabilitation intervention at home in the context of a 6‑week proof of value clinical trial.

As a
PhD researcher your work will focus on…