PL04: ENGINEERING APPROACHES FOR FUNCTIONAL 
RESTORATION AFTER SPINAL CORD INJURY

Chairs: Alexander Rabchevsky, PhD and Lumy Sawaki, PhD

PL04.01 - FES for Postural Stability

   Jennifer French - Neurotech Network

PL04.02 - FES for Locomotion

   Susan Harkema, PhD - University of Louisville

PL04.03 - Exoskeletons Effectively Promote Overground Locomotion

   Amanda Boxtel - Bridging Bionics

Session Description

Despite the numerous advances that have been seen in the laboratory setting quantifying functional recovery of various modalities after SCI and employing the most state-of-the-art techniques for imaging injured spinal cord tissues, the field of biomedical engineering research has exceptionally established functional advances in restoring locomotor function after even chronic SCI. Unlike the many experimental biological techniques that will be presented and discussed, this session is designed to bring together end users, scientific researchers and clinician scientists all using advances in biomedical engineering to help control, in particular, lost trunk and limb musculature, as well as autonomic dysfunctions after SCI.  In particular, users and experts in functional electrical stimulation (FES), exoskeletons and epidural stimulation will be featured.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this session, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand how FES improves the overall health and well-being of users, from the viewpoint of a research scientist and a quadriplegic paralympian.
2. Learn how exoskeletons impact daily living from the viewpoints of a paraplegic who acquired their own device and launch a company to make them more available, such as a spinal surgeon who is paralyzed and actively uses an exoskeleton, notably in clinical trials.
3. Recognize the potential impact that epidural stimulation can have on ameliorating both locomotor and autonomic dysfunctions.