BC Rehab Foundation recently announced the recipients of the 2011 BC Rehab Research Awards, a funding competition that offers rehabilitation professionals an opportunity to undertake clinical research in their area of expertise, helping improve the lives of people living with physical disabilities, and a team of ICORD Researchers was one of the winners.

“One of the ways that BC Rehab supports people with disabilities is by sponsoring research and educational programs aimed at improving clinical care at GF Strong and other rehabilitation facilities. The BC Rehab Research Awards are an important part of this support,” said Paul Richard, Chairman of the BC Rehab Board. Each award provides research groups at GF Strong with $15,000 per study to investigate and research ideas that might otherwise not receive funding, and we are proud to play a role in expanding the techniques and knowledge that can improve the life of anyone living with a disability.”

The ICORD Research team includes Marie Carlson, Dr. Ross Davidson, Dr. Stacy Elliott, Dr. Andrei Krassioukov and Dr. Vanessa Noonan, and is entitled Validation of the International Autonomic Standards for Evaluation of Individuals with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: Focus on Sexual, Bladder and Bowel Function. Research partners for this project include the Rick Hansen Institute and UBC.

ICORD Principal Investigator and BCIT Faculty member Dr Jaimie Borisoff has been named a Canada Research Chair for his work in Rehabilitation Engineering Design at BCIT.  Started in 2000 by the Federal Government, the awards are given to exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field. The award of  $100,000 annually for five years will support Dr Borisoff’s work in the research and development of assistive technology for people with disabilities.

Dr Borisoff and his team focus on technology that allows for inclusiveness and access for anyone with  mobility impairments. Borisoff created the Elevation^TM wheelchair, which allows the user to adjust the chair and backrest in real-time throughout the day. “The wheelchair was born from my own experiences using conventional wheelchairs,” says Borisoff, a former national wheelchair basketball competitor.  “For sports or activities that you need greater speed and stability, you want to be lower to the ground. But when you want to make eye contact while talking to someone who is standing up, or reach for something on a shelf, then a conventional wheel chair can’t help you. Elevation allows you a greater range of motion and capabilities.”

Dr Borisoff’s path to Rehabilitation Engineering was prompted when his own spinal cord was injured in a car accident while he was a student in Engineering Physics at UBC. He went on to earn a PhD in Neuroscience and to do postgraduate research with the Neil Squire Society on assistive devices for people with disabilities. As a graduate student, he studied spinal cord regeneration at ICORD, a world leading health research centre focused on spinal cord injury located at Vancouver General Hospital.

His current projects include working with Occupational Therapists at ICORD to implement a wheelchair activity monitor that will log how people use the Elevation wheelchair throughout the day in order to make any refinements and to demonstrate changes to the user’s quality of life. His team is also focusing on improving home access for people with mobility challenges and are creating a prototype of a new lift.

As a Canada Research Chair, Dr. Borisoff will maintain two labs, one at ICORD, and a new lab at BCIT in Rehabilitation Engineering Design. Dr. Borisoff and his team will draw on a wide range of experts that include human factor engineers, product developers, technicians, neuroscientists, and occupational therapists to develop innovative rehabilitation tools.

“Whether someone has a spinal cord injury, is elderly, or is using a stroller, entrances to buildings can often present unnecessary access challenges,” says Borisoff.  “What is great about working with research teams at BCIT and ICORD is that we have access to a huge range of skills to create solutions for mobility issues.”

Dr Borisoff’s research also receives support from the Rick Hansen Foundation and Rick Hansen Institute.

Everyone is welcome to a free public event featuring ICORD Principal Investigator and author Dr. E. Paul Zehr. Dr. Zehr will be giving a multimedia presentation entitled “Inventing Iron Man: Where is the line between human and machine?” He will also be signing copies of his latest book, Inventing Iron Man: the possibility of a human machine.

Event details:

Date: Tuesday September 20th

Time: 7:00 to 8:00pm

Location: Lecture Hall of the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre, 818 West 10th Avenue.

For more information, call 604-675-675-8844.

Media

Dr. Zehr was featured in the Vancouver Sun and Metro newspapers on September 15th.