Principal Investigator
B.A.Sc. [Engineering Physics] (University of British Columbia), Ph.D. [Neuroscience] (University of British Columbia)
Canadian Research Chair, Rehabilitation Engineering Design, British Columbia Institute of Technology
Research Director, British Columbia Institute of Technology
Adjunct Professor, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Research Interests
Accessibility; Mobility; Rehabilitation; Sensory substitution; WheelchairDr. Borisoff focuses his research on how technology development can improve accessibility and mobility for people with SCI. One focus of his work is on expanding patients’ ability to interact more fully with others, the environment, and their world. This includes dynamic wheeled mobility, the ability to change your position in a wheelchair to suit different daily activities. Rehabilitation Engineering Design looks at how people use devices in real life and, from these observations, designs better versions of the devices. In the long term, Dr. Borisoff wants to merge current models with newer technologies like robotics and exoskeletons in order to increase the ways in which technology can improve the lives of people with SCI.
Dr. Borisoff is the Canadian Research Chair in Rehabilitation Engineering Design at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is also a Research Director at BCIT and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the Biomedical Engineering Program, both at the University of British Columbia, as well as a Principal Investigator at ICORD. He completed his B.A.Sc. in engineering physics and his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the University of British Columbia.
If researchers like Dr. Borisoff can build a piece of technology which can be commercialized, it can be made available for others to use and provide help to many people. Simple, practical solutions are likely to be the real-world solutions to improve the lives of people with SCI. Dr. Borisoff tries to “fill in the gaps and divides in people’s lives with technology.”
Having access to a full-time rehabilitation engineer like Franco Chan, who can provide on-site, in-person skills, is Dr. Borisoff’s favourite aspect of working at ICORD. In some cases, a product idea can be taken from research and design, through testing, and even into clinical trials within one building. He also excited by the ability to collaborate with diverse groups of researchers and bring them together on new projects.
Dr. Borisoff says the best thing about his job is that he is his own guinea pig; he tests everything he designs, even if it ends up being awkward or difficult to use. Part of what drives his research is not asking anyone else to do something he hasn’t tried himself!
Currently recruiting for:
Recent Collaborations:
Dr. Borisoff collaborates with Dr. Bill Miller, Dr. Ben Mortenson and others on the impact of mobility issues on social participation.
With Dr. Christopher West and Dr. Tania Lam, Dr. Borisoff is studying “hybrid exercise” for SCI (and other disabilities), exercise that combines both arm and leg movements in synchrony.
He is also working with Dr. Bonnie Sawatzky, Dr. Ben Mortenson, and rehabilitation engineer Franco Chan on data logging / monitoring of wheelchair use in the community.
Major Findings:
Dr. Borisoff helped develop the Elevation Wheelchair. This new wheelchair design is light-weight and has on the fly adjustable seating; both the seat height and backrest angle can be adjusted easily, making it a real-time wheelchair designed to suit various functional activities.
Led by graduate student Jacquelyn Cragg in collaboration with Dr. John Kramer and others, Dr. Borisoff’s lab has further documented the myriad health and lifestyle complications impacted by secondary complications after SCI. They have contributed data about heart disease, stroke, chronic pain, type 2 diabetes, and other factors, as well as possible mechanisms that contribute to a reduced quality of life after SCI.
Techniques employed in the lab:
- Biosignal acquisition analysis
- Prototyping technology
- Signal processing
- Technology design
Affiliation with organizations and societies:
- British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)
- Advisory Committee, BC Provincial Ministry of Social Development
Awards
Some of Dr. Borisoff’s major awards and accomplishments include:
- RESNA’s Developer’s Showcase IMPACT Award Winner (2021)
- Impact award for the SWIVL wheelchair accessory invention (2021)
- Best Pick Wheelchair for the Elevation Wheelchair in Mobility Management (2015)
- Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal (Governor General, 2012)
- Canada Research Chair in Rehabilitation Engineering Design Tier 2 (2011)
- Nominee for the Elevation Wheelchair (Manning Innovation Awards, 2008)
- Post-Doctoral Fellow Operating Grant (Christopher Reeve Foundation, 2006)
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship (MSFHR, 2003-2006)
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship (NSERC, 2003-2005)
- Best Poster Award (ASIA Conference, 2002)
Current Lab Members
| Trainees | Research Staff |
|---|---|
| Naghmeh Zaghi | Garett Kryt |
| Johanna Mattie | |
| Rory Dougall |
*has graduated in the past year
Trainee Awards
| Year | Name | Award |
| 2020 | Mahsa Kahlili | Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award |
| 2015 | Sripriya Kalidoss | Globalink Research Internship, MITACS |
| Garrett Kryt |
|
|
| 2014 | Jacquelyn Cragg |
|
| Guobin Wu | Undergraduate Student Research Award (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) | |
| Megan O’Brien | Undergraduate Student Research Award (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) | |
| 2013 | Kevin Chen | Undergraduate Student Research Award (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) |
| Jacquelyn Cragg |
|
|
| 2012 | Jacquelyn Cragg |
|
Current Opportunities in the Lab
There are currently no openings in Dr. Borisoff’s lab. Please contact Dr. Borisoff with inquiries.
Watch a video
Watch Dr. Jaimie Borisoff’s Café Scientifique presentation on the challenges faced by Paralympic athletes with SCI.
Recent publications
- Khalili, M, Ta, K, Van der Loos, HFM, Borisoff, JF. 2021. Offline and Real-Time Implementation of a Terrain Classification Pipeline for Pushrim-Activated Power-Assisted Wheelchairs.. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. doi: 10.1109/EMBC46164.2021.9630749.
- Khalili, M, Kryt, G, Van der Loos, HFM, Borisoff, JF. 2021. A Comparison Between Conventional and Terrain-Specific Adaptive Pushrim-Activated Power-Assisted Wheelchairs.. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2021.3132644.
- Flockhart, EW, Miller, WC, Campbell, JA, Mattie, JL, Borisoff, JF. 2023. Evaluation of two power assist systems for manual wheelchairs for usability, performance and mobility: a pilot study.. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. doi: 10.1080/17483107.2021.2001063.
- Khalili, M, Kryt, G, Van der Loos, HFM, Borisoff, JF. 2021. A Comparison Between Conventional and User-Intention-Based Adaptive Pushrim-Activated Power-Assisted Wheelchairs.. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. doi: 10.1109/TNSRE.2021.3129420.
- Khalili, M et al.. 2022. Perception of autonomy among people who use wheeled mobility assistive devices: Dependence on the type of wheeled assistive technology.. Assist Technol. doi: 10.1080/10400435.2021.1934611.
