Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to Host 9th Annual IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics
June 28, 2005
CHICAGO - The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) will welcome more than 250 international leading experts in robotics and medicine to Chicago for the 9th annual IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR).
The conference, co-hosted by Northwestern University and taking place at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Feinberg Pavilion Conference Center will run from June 28-July 1,2005.
Themed, Frontiers of the Human-Machine Interface, the conference will highlight new ground breaking medical devices and findings in robotics used to help in rehabilitation and physical medicine. Some of this year's topics will focus on brain-machine interfaces for rehabilitation, the use of robotics in prosthetics and orthotics, biorobotics and biomimetics, ethics in rehabilitative robotics and robotic therapies.
Without such advancements in robotics, Gernard Fulton would have never been able to walk again following a spinal cord injury she had in 2004. Gernard was given the opportunity to use the Lokomat- a robotic gait-trainer, in a clinical setting for her rehabilitation at RIC. Robot-assisted walking therapy is a form of physical therapy that uses a robotic device to help a person whose ability to walk has been impaired as a result of stroke, spinal cord or brain injury, neurological or orthopedic condition, learn to walk again.
Fulton was shot in Chicago in the left shoulder, and the bullet traveled through her body and struck her C 4-6 vertebrae severely injuring her with an incomplete spinal cord injury. The prognosis was unknown and after two months of in-patient therapy at RIC, working on the Lokomat three-days-a-week, Gernard is able to walk and resume her life as a mother of two. She now continues to train on a regular treadmill to build her balance and strength.
Beyond demonstrating such devices as the Lokomat and work by Dr. Todd Kuikenon robotic myeoelectric prosthetics, commercial exhibits include Chicago PT, LLC, developers of a new robotic therapy tool called Kine Assist (Web site: www.chicagopt.com); Kinetic Muscles, Inc., developers of a robotic arm used in stroke therapies; Hocoma Medical Engineering the developer of a robotic-assisted walking therapy machine called Lokomat; kinTtechnologies; Barrett Technologies, Inc.; FCS Robotics.
Other highlights of the conference include:
- Nanotechnology - An exploration of micro robots that work inside the human body
- Assistive living robots - These robots on display at the conference attach to wheelchairs and allow people to maintain as much independence as possibly by helping with daily activities
- Simple spring-driven robots that help stroke patients regain strength
- Telerehabilitation technology and advancements -This technology allows people to interact with their therapist or physician from a distant location, also allowing therapist or physician to track a patient's progress by collecting and receiving therapy session data from the therapy patient's work on alone at home
- Socially aware autonomous robot - This type of robot helps alleviate the nursing shortage by interacting with patients for basic needs while they are hospitalized
ICORR 2005 has is sponsored by the engineering organization, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and EMBS, our technical co-sponsor. Financial support has been provided by: The Whitaker Foundation; the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago; the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering (NIBIB); the National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke (NINDS), and the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHHD).
About the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago is dedicated to helping people with all levels and types of physical disabilities regain or improve their physical functions and empowering them to participate more fully in family, social, vocational and leisure time pursuits. U.S. News & World Report has rated Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago the "Best Rehabilitation Hospital in America" every year since 1991. To find out more about RIC visit www.ric.org.
Journalists contact: mediarelations@ric.org, 312-238-6044.
All others contact: webmaster@ric.org.
