Zurich, Switzerland, September 18, 2013 – During the INRS 2013, neurological rehabilitation was in the focus of renowned international speakers and more than 460 clinicians, scientists, physiotherapists and engineers around the world. The topic of the interdisciplinary symposium was new technologies in neurological rehabilitation and their successful integration into the clinical routine. The various aspects of this subject were debated in numerous workshops and lectures by speakers and participants of 39 countries.
The talks by top clinicians and scientists of renowned rehabilitation clinics such as Balgrist University Hospital, Switzerland or Moss Rehab, USA, highlighted the new role of neurorehabiliation and discussed their practicability, acceptance and new assessments for different neurological diseases. The positive development and recognition of robot-supported therapy concepts as well as the interdisciplinary exchange between experts from all disciplines were particularly important aspects during the whole symposium.
Increased acceptance and integration of new technologies
It was observed that the positive development and acceptance of new technologies leads to an increased integration of robotic supported therapy into the clinical routine. Whereas new technologies had to prove their right to exist until a few years ago and continuously had to compete against manual therapy, they are today an inherent part of many therapy plans.
Efficiency – The major potential of robotics
Another focus of the symposium was dedicated to the topic of efficient therapy. Since the discovery that body functions lost through traumatic brain injury can be relearned with early intensive and repetitive training, the efficiency of new technologies has become an important and highly discussed topic. Especially the high number of repetitions needed for a successful therapy can be carried out much easier with robotics, which extremely supports and relieves the therapist.
The bigger challenge today is to find out how these new technologies can be applied in the best possible way and which patients and disease patterns they can support.
New fields in rehabilitation
As an emerging topic and growing trend in the rehabilitation of diseases and injuries of the central nervous system, the relatively new field of Consumer Electronics was presented. This new form of therapy is often used for a continuation of treatment to motivate patients at a later stage of rehabilitation and promises strong growth potential in the home market in the next few years.
More than 50 submitted scientific Poster
More than 50 submitted posters complemented the scientific program of the INRS 2013 with a wide spectrum of topics and interesting new aspects. With a poster on “Clinical implementation of arm support training in sub-acute stroke across 7 Dutch rehabilitation centers” Ms. Gerdienke Prange, Senior Researcher (Human Movement Science) at Roessingh Research and Development was awarded for the best poster. For more information please visit www.inrs2013.com.
Outlook
Robotics have proven their efficiency and are more and more integrated into the clinical routine. Therefore we can expect that new and more efficient therapy approaches will continue to play an important role as supporting devices in neurorehabilitation. However, with its growing acceptance and integration into the clinical routine, the financing of robotic therapy presents a challenge that will certainly continue to be up for discussion for the next few years.
INRS 2015
The next INRS will be organized together with ICVR and ICRAN as Rehab Week and takes place June 8-12, 2015 in Valencia, Spain.