IFESS Program

David F. Collins, PhD

Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta

Research topics: functional electrical stimulation, motor control, rehabilitation, reflex, motor unit

Dr. Collins is a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation and is a member of the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta. His research focuses on minimising contraction fatigue during functional electrical stimulation (FES). He and his team are developing ways to incorporate physiological principles of motor unit recruitment that help reduce fatigability of voluntary contractions (Henneman's size principle, physiological discharge rates), into the way FES generates contractions. The goal of this work is to maximise the benefits of FES-based programs.

Frank J. Lane, Ph.D.

Illinois Institute of Technology, Department of Psychology

Research topics: assistive technology, ethics, qualitative methods

Dr. Lane earned his Ph.D. and his master’s degree from the University of Florida. He currently works for Illinois Institute of Technology where he is an associate professor of psychology and associate chair of the department of psychology. He is the director of the rehabilitation engineering technology program and co-principal investigator of the intracortical visual prosthesis project. His major research area has been in the area of assistive technology with particular emphasis on implant technology for people who are blind. His specific emphasis is on the involvement of people who are blind in the development of technology, informed consent process and clinical trial process.

Paul Meadows

Consultant to LivaNova, UK, previously VP of R&D & CTO, ImThera Medical, Inc.

Research topics: Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Chronic Pain, Implantable Stimulation Technology

Mr. Meadows is past Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for ImThera Medical, a medical device manufacturer of implanted neurostimulation technology for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.  Mr. Meadows has worked in the neurostimulation industry for over three decades and holds over 60 US patents in neurostimulation technology.  He is currently a consultant to LivaNova UK, which acquired ImThera Medical in January, 2018.

Dejan B. Popović, PhD, DrTec

Member of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Professor Emeritus, Aalborg University, Denmark

Research topics: FES, Control, Therapy, Assisted exercise, Hybrid assistive systems

Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, Serbia, member of Academy of Engineering Sciences of Serbia and professor emeritus at Aalborg University, Denmark. He published more than 100 papers in peer reviewed journals, wrote several books and textbooks, and holds patents. He was professor at the University of Belgrade, Serbia; University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; University of Miami, Florida, USA and Aalborg University, Denmark. He is Editor of the Journal of Automatic Control, Belgrade and associated Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering and Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing. He is the member of the editorial board of Medical Engineering and Physics and Neurorehabilitation journals. He is fellow and the founding member of the EAMBES and IFESS. He is president of the Serbian Society for ETRAN. His research interests are in the domains of motor control, rehabilitation robotics, functional electrical stimulation and design of wearable assistive systems for persons with special needs.

Dr. Dimitry Sayenko, MD, PhD

Center for Neuroregeneration, Department of Neurosurgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute

Research topics: Neuromodulation, spinal cord stimulation, neurorehabilitation


Dr. Dimitry Sayenko graduated in 1996 from the Russian State Medical University with an MD degree. From 1996 to 2006, he was a researcher at the Institute for Biomedical Problems – the leading Russian research institute specializing in biomedical aspects of manned spaceflights. In 2005, he received a PhD in Aerospace Medicine, with a thesis on the effect of microgravity on postural control in cosmonauts and astronauts. Dr. Sayenko completed his postdoctoral training at the National Rehabilitation Center in Japan (2006-2008), as well as at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in Canada (2008-2012). From 2012 to 2014, Dr. Sayenko held a faculty appointment at the University of Louisville and the Frazier Rehab Institute, where he investigated the mechanisms of neuromodulation induced by epidural spinal stimulation. From 2014 to 2018, Dr. Sayenko worked on the team of Drs. Reggie Edgerton and Yury Gerasimenko at the UCLA, where he utilized spinal stimulation following spinal cord injury to recover sensorimotor function in the upper and lower limbs, as well as to regain postural control during sitting and standing. Dr. Sayenko’s current research at the Houston Methodist Research Institute focuses on the mechanisms and effects of spinal neuromodulation in the sensorimotor recovery after neurological disorders and injuries, including stroke and spinal cord injury.

Ken Yoshida, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis

Research topics: Bioelectronics, Neural Interfaces, Neuromodulation, Nerve Block, Autonomic Nerves

Ken Yoshida (PhD. Univ Utah, 1994) is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and has worked in the field of neural engineering through developing techniques to record, activate and block peripheral and autonomic nerve activity. He is active in the development and use of peripheral nerve interfaces, in particular the intrafascicular electrode (tfLIFE and TIME devices), for high resolution recording and high selectivity stimulation. In the past 5 years, he has worked to adapt methods developed for somatic peripheral nerves towards application in autonomic nerves as a means to monitor and modulate the activity in nerves involved in the automatic regulation of major organs in the body. Dr Yoshida is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and Tau Beta Pi, a senior member of the IEEE, and a founding member of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society.

IFESS KEYNOTE LECTURE 1:

Chair: Kei Masani

Neuromodulation of Spinal Networks to Recover Motor Function: Underlying Mechanisms and Clinical Translations

Podium Session 1: Neural Circuits

Chairs: Kei Masani, Dimitry Sayenko

IFESS KEYNOTE LECTURE 2:

Chair: Phil Troyk

Implant Technology

Special Session 1: Snapshots of FES in Asian Countries

Chairs: Phil Troyk, Paul Meadows

IFESS KEYNOTE LECTURE 3:

Chair: Christine Azevedo-Coste

FES to Bioelectronic Medicines: Neural Interfaces and Methods for the Autonomic Nervous System to Effect Changes to Organ Function

Podium Session 2: Novel Technologies

Chairs: Christine Azevedo-Coste, Ken Yoshida

IFESS KEYNOTE LECTURE 4:

Chair: Ines Bersch

Utilising Physiological Principles to Reduce Contraction Fatigability during Functional Electrical Stimulation

Podium Session 3: Novel Technologies

Chairs: Ines Bersch, David F. Collins

IFESS KEYNOTE LECTURE 5:

Chair: Milos R. Popovic

The Role of Functional Electrical Stimulation in Rehabilitation

Podium Session 4: FES Clinical Trials and FES in Clinical Practice

Chairs: Milos R. Popovic, Dejan Popovic

IFESS KEYNOTE LECTURE 6:

Chair: Cesar Marquez-Chin

Using End User Perspectives to Develop Informed Consent Processes for Clinical Trials of Rehabilitation Technologies

Special Session 2: User and Ethical Considerations in FES

Chairs: Cesar Marquez-Chin, Frank J. Lane