Innovative Projects Realized

Evaluation of a home transfer pole during assisted sit-to-stand in older adults with mobility limitations

Mobility in the home is a difficult task for older adults with mobility limitations and is associated with a risk of injury from falling. However, it is a requisite for maintaining independence. A number of assistive technologies have been developed to help a number of different activities of daily living, one in specific is the transfer pole – a vertically oriented pole that pressure fits between ceiling and floor and helps the user stand-up. Three common configurations include a single vertical pole, a single pole with a horizontal grab-bar, and two vertical poles. The purpose of this study is to 1) determine the best configuration based on biomechanical and balance testing on older adults with mobility limitations and 2) optimize the design of the transfer pole to support forces safely and conform to the home environment. The anticipated benefit for Toronto Rehab is the capacity to recommend the safest transfer…….

Development of Technologies to Extract and Stabilize DNA from a Broad Spectrum of Microorganisms

Optimizing the Delivery of Programs to Immigrants through Targeted, Mixed, and Universal Services

Chemical modification of lignin for bio-based materials

A portable multi-sensor navigation system for indoor and urban localization and orientation

Examining the effectiveness of combined rehabilitation and botulinum toxin injection on functional improvement of the upper limb after stroke

Cognitive performance in patients with coronary artery disease undertaking exercise: imaging the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor

Exploiting effects of selenium on cell survival and immunity to improve lactation of dairy cows and functionality of their milk

Integration of an autonomous trading platform

Sleep disorders among a population with traumatic brain injury from a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Clinic

The proposed research will study the best way to evaluate sleep disorders among persons who suffered a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the workplace. We will draw upon the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board-insured workers being evaluated at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, approximately 300-400 annually, for mild to moderate TBI. This study will provide a better understanding of the evaluation of sleep disturbance among workers with this condition which serves to inform better assessment and treatment. This study is of utmost importance to this institution and the population served. More successful and early treatment of patients will improve daytime performance and wellbeing, early return to the workforce, and an overall shorter duration of disability for patients with TBI. Identification of the prevalence of sleep disorders in this population will raise awareness of the possible underestimation of its influence on poor rehabilitation outcomes.

Atlas-based attenuation correction for PET/MRI

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images need correction for the loss of photons. This loss, or attenuation, is due to interactions with patient tissues. Corrections are currently done with X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), however we are proposing a method whereby Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) are used. This will be done by creating an attenuation map(?-map). The construction of ?-maps can be divided into two categories, patient specific ?-maps by MRI segmentation, and registration of a predefined atlas to an MRI. Challenges with the former include object truncation, and reliance upon heuristics to transform an MRI into a u-map. The latter technique can overcome these challenges, but relies upon the selection of an atlas that is adaptable to a patient population. We will evaluate three strategies for constructing an atlas suitable for whole-body PET/MRI. We will then compare the performance of these methods with MRI segmentation-based and the gold-standard CTbased methods.

Brain imaging biomarkers type 2 diabetes and stroke