Research Areas - IMREA HCFMUSP

CLINICAL AND TOOLS-BASED FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT

Locomotor system impairments reflect the main sequelae of traumas and chronic and degenerative conditions that affect the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems and that require specialized interventions and care aiming at providing rehabilitation and reducing disability. Urban violence, population ageing and changes in lifestyle are the main causes of the large increase in disabling conditions. Hence the importance of studying and characterizing disability in the different stages of the life cycle, and recognizing powerful strategies for early functional diagnosis and rehabilitation. The relation of functional assessments and quality of life and the tools developed for distance learning and telerehabilitation have been a complementary focus of our studies..

ROBOTICS APPLIED TO REHABILITATION

It aims to propose and validate new rehabilitation paradigms using robot-assisted therapy for the functional recovery of upper and lower limbs of people with brain and spinal cord injuries and cerebral palsy. The objective is to analyze the effects of robot-assisted therapy for upper and lower limbs; develop new robotic devices, mathematical models of motor control and computational systems for clinical applications; and evaluate individual recovery through functional scales.

HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

Health technologies are the application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of medicines, medical devices, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of life. Health Technology Assessment is a systematic evaluation of the properties, effects and impacts of health technologies. This is a multidisciplinary process of assessing the social, economic, organizational and ethical issues of a health intervention or technology that covers both the direct and expected consequences and the indirect and unexpected consequences of these technologies and interventions. The primary purpose of conducting an evaluation is to inform the decision-making process of health policies.

MEDICINE AND NON-MEDICINE-BASED PRM INTERVENTIONS

This field of study embraces the holistic treatment of a wide variety of phenomena that lead to some level of disability. Disabling conditions require a plethora of medicine- and non-medicine-based interventions. Analyzing the efficacy of these methods and proposing new paradigms in the treatment of disabling syndromes is a new research challenge for new diagnostic and therapeutic parameters.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY REHABILITATION INTERVENTIONS

The rehabilitation treatment aims to promote a set of actions that not only improve people’s physical aspects but also ensure a satisfactory reintegration of the individual into his/her family, community, and the labor market. It is the process of consolidating individual therapeutic objectives that do not characterize an area of professional exclusivity, but rather a proposal for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary action. Thus, it is increasingly necessary to establish strategies that involve the participation of several health professionals, such as Physical Educators, Nurses, Physiotherapists, Speech Therapists, Nutritionists, Social Workers and Psychologists.

NEUROMODULATION

One of the forms of Neuromodulation is the direct application of electric currents to the nervous system. This can be done invasively or non-invasively. At IMREA, we use non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to enhance the recovery, compensation and functional adaptation of rehabilitation patients. Among the techniques used are the Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS). In addition, diagnostic TMS, along with Electroencephalography (EEG) and Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) have been used to quantify and target the use of tDCS and rTMS.

BRAIN PLASTICITY

The term plasticity was first introduced in science in 1890, in reference to the mutability of human behavior, and its relation to brain modification. Currently, the theoretical concepts of brain plasticity are gaining solid ground thanks to the development of instruments capable of measuring the functional modifications of the brain, such as Electroencephalography (EEG), Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). At IMREA, we use such technologies to study the plastic changes of the brain related to the functional improvement of rehabilitation patients. This knowledge also enables the development of neurophysiological biomarkers and the improvement of rehabilitation therapies.