Workshop Presenters: Merkur Alimusaj, Todd Kuiken, Kevin Englehart, Arjan Gijsberts, Barbara Caputo, Patrick Pilarski, Claudio Castellini, William Craelius, Dario Farina, Marko Markovic, Strahinja Dosen, Panagiotis Artemiadis, Antonio Bicchi, Sasha B. Godfrey, Arash Ajoudani

link here for more details

This workshop is about Human-Machine Interfaces which connect non-invasively to the peripheral nervous system (PNS-MIs), surface electromyography (sEMG) being the paradigmatic PNS-MI. We will discuss about current limitations of PNS-MIs and sEMG, novel interfaces and shared prosthetic control. The workshop will bring together roboticists, clinicians and neuroscientists interested in these issues.

Workshop Contact: Stefano Mazzoleni, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
Workshop Presenters: Julius Dewald, James Patton, Albert C. Lo, Rui Loureiro, Michelle Johnson

The use of robotic systems for rehabilitation is increasingly providing important results through several experimental clinical trials. The design, development and validation of such systems represent a challenging research topic of interest both in the bioengineering and clinical field. This workshop will:
• will provide state-of-the-art descriptions of an innovative and challenging field of bioengineering and clinical interest, including human-machine interaction.
• will be focused on robot-assisted rehabilitation which is a topic of currently active research.
• will be focused on interactions of participants to exchange ideas, discuss recent research results, explore new directions in research and technological transfer, and propose international focus groups on specific areas of research interest.

Workshop Presentations:
#1 Clinical impact of current robot-assisted treatments and challenges for
improving their impact [30 minutes]
Julius Dewald, NeuroImaging and Motor Control Laboratory, Northwestern University, Chicago
#2 Design criteria for new generation of rehabilitation robots [30 minutes]
James Patton, Institute of Chicago
#3 Neuroscience and rehabilitation robotics [30 minutes]
Albert C. Lo, Brown University
#4 Control strategies for rehabilitation robotics and industrial exploitation [30 minutes]
Rui Loureiro,Middlesex University London
#5 Discussion: future of rehabilitation robots [30 minutes]
Michelle Johnson, Marquette University

Primary audience: engineers, physicians, PhD students, researchers in academic spin-off companies and companies involved in research.
Secondary audience: graduate and undergraduate students, therapists, and other clinicians.

Workshop Presenters: Herman van der Kooij, Raffaella Carloni, Peter Neuhaus, Marcia O’Malley, Ashish Deshpande, Urs Keller, Lorenzo Masia, Fabrizio Sergi and Conor Walsh

complete workshop details

Robotic exoskeleton systems provide a promising avenue for assisting stroke patients to recover motor function and for easing the burden of labor intensive, highly repetitive, and therefore, costly conventional physical therapy. Design of robotic exoskeletons is challenging due to the limits on size and weight, and the need to address technical challenges in areas ranging from biomechanics, rehabilitation, actuation, sensing, physical human-robot interaction, and control based on the user intent. Since the exoskeletons are meant to be in a close physical contact with the subjects, a synergistic approach that accounts for the coupled human-robot system may be necessary.

Recently novel robotic designs, including exoskeleton designs, have been introduced with compliance at the joints and actuation. The goal of this workshop is to understand the effects of introduction of compliance on the overall performance of the robotic systems, and to explore how compliant actuation and transmission may be advantageous in exoskeleton designed for rehabilitation.

Workshop Presenters: Pooja Viswanathan, Rosalie Wang, Cristina Urdiales Garcia, Christian Mandel, Francois Routhier, Sajay Arthanat and Karyn Moffatt

This workshop will bring together a diverse group of computer scientists, engineers and occupational therapists from all over the world in order to gain a holistic understanding of the challenges in developing and evaluating intelligent wheelchairs (and other assistive devices), and to provide possible solutions to facilitate testing with target users.

Link here for complete details

Workshop Presenters: Roger Gassert, Olivier Lambercy, Raymond Tong, Peter S. Lum, Patrick Aubin, Kyujin Cho, David Reinkensmeyer, Eric Wolbrecht, James Sulzer

Interaction with the environment occurs mostly through the hands and fingers, involves dexterous and dynamic movements and relies strongly on sensory feedback. Any reduction of hand function through neurological injury such as stroke or spinal cord injury has devastating effects on the independence and social integration oftheaffected person. About two thirds of stroke survivors suffer from long‐term hand and finger impairment.

link here for complete workshop details

Workshop Contact: Gery Colombo, IISART and Hocoma
Workshop Presenters: David Reinkensmeyer, Thiery Keller, Gery Colombo and Jane Burridge

link to workshop details

Two hour workshop. In the workshop it will be discussed, how technological developments have to be implemented (commercially and clinically) to really make a change in rehabilitation of neurologic patients.

Workshop Contact: Katherine Steele; email: kmsteele-at-uw-dot-edu
Workshop Presenters: Katherine Steele, University of Washington and Jeffrey Reinbolt, University of Tennessee

Two hour, hands-on workshop.

Computer simulation has emerged as a powerful tool to understand the dynamics and function of human movement, evaluate new assistive technologies, and revolutionize medical decision making and design. Applied to rehabilitation research, simulation has the potential to help identify the underlying mechanisms of movement disorders, optimize new rehabilitation strategies, evaluate human-robot interactions, and provide quantitative measures of the rehabilitation and recovery process. This workshop will provide a hands-on introduction to computer simulation that is accessible to engineers, scientists, and clinicians of all backgrounds.

Link to workshop details