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Dates and Times

30 October 2019
14:00 - 15:00

Location

On-Campus
Building: 2
Room: A6

Organiser

Faculty of Science and Technology

Speakers

Prof Paulette van Vliet, University of Newcastle

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Medical devices for stroke upper limb rehabilitation by Prof Paulette van Vliet, University of Newcastle

Up to 60% of stroke survivors still have non-functional arms six months after stroke.  Thousands of repetitions of movements are needed to improve function via neuroplasticity.  Face-to-face time with therapists will never be able to provide all the hours needed, so the search is on to develop assistive devices which patients can use both under supervision and on their own to achieve these repetitions. We will likely be relying more on these devices as they become more widely available in the future.

This talk will describe some of the devices in development, as well as those available now. Professor van Vliet, a stroke researcher and clinician, works with engineers on developing devices to improve stroke outcomes, and uses devices in her clinical practice.  The focus of the talk will be on sensor-based devices such those using gaming technology, virtual reality and exoskeletons, which provide feedback to the person so that they can improve motor control as they practice. The current barriers to more people being able to access these devices will be discussed along with potential future solutions.

Additional Information

Speaker Bio: 

Prof. Paulette van Vliet received the Ph.D. degree in physical therapy from University of Nottingham, UK, in 1998. She is currently a Professor of Stroke Rehabilitation at the University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia. She is leading an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funded trial evaluating task specific training for upper limb recovery after stroke and has held an NHMRC Development grant for the development of a feedback device for training of motor control of arm and hand after stroke. Her research interests include recovery of upper limb motor control after stroke, evaluation and development of physiotherapy intervention for people with stroke, development of motor rehabilitation devices to improve arm movement after stroke and motor skill acquisition following stroke. 

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