Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory

Dr. Michael Willand - Using electrical stimulation to enhance functional recovery following peripheral nerve injury
2016-09-08 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Lyndhurst Center – Lecture Rooms A & B, 520 Sutherland Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M4G3V9, Canada
Abstract
Recovery following peripheral nerve injuries is often incomplete. Injured nerves regenerate at a rate of approximately 1mm/day, but the longer they are without a functional connection the more diminished their capacity to regenerate becomes. In traumatic injuries, the gold standard treatment is surgical nerve repair performed immediately or shortly after injury. To date, there are no additional treatments that are used to enhance functional recovery. In this talk I will outline ongoing experiments investigating a clinically translatable daily electrical muscle stimulation paradigm in rats following nerve injury. I will also discuss a treatment of brief electrical nerve stimulation performed at the time of nerve repair that is used to accelerate nerve outgrowth across the injury site. Taken together, these two therapies may form a synergistic front used to enhance recovery following peripheral nerve injuries.
About the Speaker
Dr. Michael Willand is currently a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Mike previously completed MASc and PhD degrees in biomedical engineering at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He specialized in the design and development of novel electrical stimulators and investigated combining surgical modalities with electrical muscle stimulation to enhance functional recovery following peripheral nerve injury. His current work focuses on examining how different paradigms of electrical muscle stimulation affect reinnervation following nerve injury and repair. He is also investigating the role that electrical stimulation has in synkinetic reinnervation and the molecular basis for enhancement of reinnervation following chronic muscle stimulation.

Trunk impairment and how to improve sitting balance after spinal cord injury
2016-09-01 08:00 - 17:00
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) could result in paralysis of the trunk and lower limb muscles which can significantly impair trunk stability and sitting balance. However, very little is known about the complex neuromuscular coordination of the trunk muscles and the effects of SCI. Currently, chest straps and trunk braces are used to stabilize the trunk and correct sitting after SCI. In addition to these passive devices, functional electrical stimulation (FES) could be used to artificially contract trunk muscles and regulate sitting balance. In this talk, I will present: (1) what we know about trunk muscle coordination; (2) how SCI affects trunk muscle coordination during sitting; and (3) how we can use FES to improve sitting balance. Understanding trunk muscle impairment in combination with the use of FES can provide important implications for optimizing sitting balance rehabilitation.
Biography
Matija Milosevic is an NSERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo in Japan. Prior to moving to Tokyo, Matija completed his PhD in biomedical engineering at the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto and the Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-UHN. His main research was related to postural control and neuromuscular modelling of sitting and standing balance, and use of functional electrical stimulation. Matija’s current research is focused on exploring neurophysiology and neuroplasticity during motor control tasks as a way to enhance the function of individuals with neurological and physical impairments as well as to maximize the performance of athletes. Matija’s research expertise includes biomechanics, biomedical instrumentation, neurophysiology, neuroprostheses, modeling, signal processing and rehabilitation.
