Rapid Fire 8
Tracks
Room F4
Saturday, October 11, 2025 |
15:15 - 16:30 |
Room F4 |
Overview
Physical Rehabilitation
Presenter (if the session has co-presenters, they will be listed in the APP)
Dr Inka Löfvenmark
Physiotherapist
Spinalis Foundation and Karolinska Institutet
Complexity of Shoulder pain among Persons with Spinal cord injury in the Stockholm Region
15:15 - 15:22Biography
No Bio
Zoë Djajadikarta
Senior Research Assistant
Neuroscience Research Australia
The eWALK trial: Locomotor training combined with transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation in chronic spinal cord injury in a multi-site, double-blinded randomised sham-controlled trial; adherence, adverse events and blinding success.
15:23 - 15:30Biography
Zoë is currently working at the Spinal Cord Injury Research Centre at Neuroscience Research Australia as a Senior Research Assistant and the Centre Manager. She is conducting multi-centre clinical trials aimed at restoring function in people with spinal cord injuries. These trials attempt to determine the effect of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation paired with exercise training on walking, upper limb and respiratory function of people with chronic spinal cord injuries.
Zoë manages the center's volunteer participant database and social media channels, fostering community engagement and raising awareness of our research.
Mrs Marsha Ben
Phd Student
University Of Sydney
Early and intensive Motor Training for people with spinal cord injury (the SCI-MT Trial): Was the intervention delivered as intended?
15:31 - 15:38Biography
NO BIO
Mrs Nele Bertels
Phd Student
Hasselt University
Enhancing arm-hand skill training in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury: a validated framework by spinal cord experts and experts with lived experience
15:39 - 15:46Biography
Nele Bertels graduated as an occupational therapist in 2015 and obtained her master's degree in occupational science in 2019. From 2015 to 2021, she worked as an occupational therapist in neurological rehabilitation at the rehabilitation center Pellenberg, University Hospitals Leuven (Belgium). In September 2021, Nele started her PhD focusing on training variables of task-oriented upper limb rehabilitation in people with cervical spinal cord injury.
Prof Federica Tamburella
Professor
Link Campus University
Visual Feedback and Verbal Interaction in Robotic Gait Training: Effects on Active Participation in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury
15:47 - 15:54Biography
Professor Federica Tamburella began, and then continued until 2023, her professional activity as a Physiotherapist in the field of Translational Clinical Research at the Laboratory of Robotic Neurorehabilitation (NeuroRobot Lab) and the Laboratory for the study of Rehabilitation in Spinal Cord Injury (SpiRe Lab) at the I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia in Rome. In 2015 years, she obtained her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering from Aalborg University in Denmark and in 2018, her Doctor of Osteopathy degree from C.E.R.D.O. She specializes in the field of Central Nervous System injuries, with a focus on Spinal Cord Injuries and Stroke. Her main fields of work and related scientific publications turn their attention to areas such as neurological rehabilitation, use of exoskeletal and non-exoskeletal robotic tools for gait recovery, clinical and instrumental analysis of gait and balance, application of new rehabilitation strategies for balance and gait recovery, the role of feedback in rehabilitation, motor control and spasticity. Since 2010, she has been involved in several international research projects funded by the European Community for the development and subsequent testing, of new lower limb robotic technologies for rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord injury or stroke. She is Principal Investiggar of two research projects framed in the area of spinal cord injury: a national Young Researchers project focused on the study of the role of patient-physiotherapist interaction in the use of exoskeletal robotic technologies for rehabilitation and an international project coordinated by the University of Sydney toa address relationship between intensive muscle strengthening training and motor/functional outcomes.
Over the years, she has become a recognized trainer for the use of different lower limb robotic technologies, both rehabilitative and substitutive, within healthcare professional profiles. She participates in University Masters with lectures dedicated to neurorehabilitation technology and rehabilitation of the patient with spinal cord injury.
Mr Arne Schlausch
Clinical Project Manager
Ottobock Se & Co. KgaA
Clinical benefits of a microprocessor-controlled stance-and-swing whole leg orthosis in patients with spinal cord injury
15:55 - 16:02Biography
Arne Schlausch is a Clinical Project Manager at Ottobock. Ottobock develops and produces orthoses and prostheses. In his role, he is responsible for planning, conducting and evaluating clinical trials.
Arne Schlausch has a background in sports science, having studied at the German Sport University Cologne, Humboldt University Berlin and Charité Berlin.
Mrs Sabrina Imhof
Phd Student
Swiss Paraplegic Research
Effects of different training strategies on gait patterns in chronic incomplete spinal cord injury
16:11 - 16:18Biography
Sabrina is a physiotherapist and a third-year PhD candidate in neuroscience.Her research focuses on rehabilitation strategies for individuals with spinal cord injury, specifically investigating the effects of two distinct training regimes on walking function. Using advanced motion analysis techniques, including 3D motion capture, IMUs, and clinical assessments, they track and analyze changes in gait and mobility. Based at the Spinal Cord Injury Center at Balgrist University Hospital and Swiss Paraplegic Research, Sabrina is dedicated to advancing evidence-based rehabilitation approaches and improving functional outcomes for individuals with spinal cord injury.
Dr Ricardo Mesquita
Postdoctoral Researcher
Karolinska Institutet
No enhancement of voluntary muscle force after acute intermittent hypoxia in humans with incomplete spinal cord injury
16:19 - 16:26Biography
Ricardo works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Karolinska Institute (Division of Clinical Physiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine) since January 2025. With a background in Sports Science and in Neuromuscular Physiology, Ricardo’s research focuses on understanding how motor circuits in the brain and spinal cord control our muscles, and in how we can use this knowledge to improve muscle control in health and disease.
Ricardo’s work mainly involves recordings of surface and intramuscular electromyographic signals, recordings of neuromuscular activity in response to magnetic and electrical stimulation, tendon vibration, and respiratory physiology methods.
Ricardo’s academic path has taken him through Portugal, the UK, Finland, Canada, Australia, and Sweden. He completed his undergraduate degree in Sports Science at Faculdade de Motricidade Humana in Portugal, pursued a master’s degree in Biology of Physical Activity at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland, and obtained his PhD focusing on motoneuron physiology from Edith Cowan University in Australia.
Ricardo also holds a research position at Neuroscience Research Australia, an adjunct lecturer position at Edith Cowan University (Australia), is a member of the council of the International Society of Electrophysiology & Kinesiology and contributes to an online platform for scientific dissemination in Sports Science (YLM SportScience).
Miss Maria Del Rocio Hidalgo Mas
Phd Student And Physiotherapist
University Of Birmingham
Volitional control of the trunk correlating with Functional Recovery and Injury Characteristics in Subacute Spinal Cord Injury
Biography
A physiotherapist with several years of experience supporting individuals with neurological conditions, currently pursuing a PhD focused on the importance of trunk control in people with spinal cord injury.
