AHFMR Interdisciplinary Team Grant

The Problem

Damage to the brain or spinal cord can cause permanent disabilities, a cost of about $23 billion a year to the healthcare system. As damaged areas in the central nervous system cannot easily regrow, improving the quality of the life of people who have lost movement and function can be achieved through such advanced rehabilitation methods as neural prostheses-electrical devices that replace or restore an injured part of the nervous system.

The Team

This team of 16 researchers includes neuroscientists, biomedical researchers, engineers, physicians, nurses, rehabilitation medicine professionals, and industrial partners from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.

The Plan

The team aims to develop more sophisticated neural prostheses for the treatment of individuals with damage to the nervous system. These include devices that tap into small regions of the spinal cord and brain to activate the groups of nerve cells that regulate walking, touch, pressure, movement, temperature, and pain.

The Outcomes

Improved neural prostheses will provide personalized medicine to some of the most vulnerable people living with disabilities, restoring function to people with irreparably damaged nervous systems, increasing their independence in daily living and their ability to function in society and the workforce.

Upcoming Journal Club Seminars

(all seminars are held at 3pm)