Technology Innovations to Improve Patient Outcomes After Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in severe paralysis, for which there are no effective treatments. Advanced technologies, however, can play an important role in assisting in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of SCI patients who suffer many impairments beyond the loss of voluntary muscle control. In this proposal, we will develop and apply innovative technologies for SCI. We will develop a novel biosensor for the injured cord to inform doctors how to best support its healing in the early stages of injury. We will also develop a bladder pressure sensor to help patients and doctors detect when bladder pressures rise unknowingly. And we will utilize imaging technologies and drug infusion technologies to better understand and potentially treat SCI. The partnership between scientific research and clinical medicine makes this proposal uniquely suited to develop such technologies to help SCI patients.

Faculty Supervisor:

Brian Kwon

Student:

Farnaz Sahragard;Katharina Raschdorf;Shahbaz Askari;Cameron Gee;Adam Doelman;Sigrun Jarlsdottir;Toluyemi Adefolarin Malomo;Aysha Allard Brown

Partner:

Vancouver General Hospital

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Health care and social assistance

University:

University of British Columbia