21st CENTURY NEURO-REHABILITATIVE TECHNOLOGIES WILL BE INTRODUCED AT THE “TRANSFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES” SEMINAR IN CHICAGO

Revolutionary technologies in the fields of Robotic Therapy and Virtual Reality Neuropathology
to be presented at two-day conference

CHICAGO, IL (July 29, 2008) The Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation has teamed up with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to present the Transformational Technologies seminar from August 14-15, that will highlight robotic therapies and their use in improving motor skills for people with cerebral palsy. This new approach will bring hope that CP patients will be able to live longer and more independently.

Celebral Palsy is defined as a condition caused by brain damage in a child before the age of two years old that results in a lack of muscle control, especially in the limbs. About 800,000 people in America have some form of cerebral palsy. Each year 10,000 infants are diagnosed with cerebral palsy. About 2-3 children per 1,000, have cerebral palsy.

The conference will feature workshops and demonstrations of robotic therapy, play therapy, virtual therapy and rehabilitation, as well as question and answer sessions from the world’s preeminent authorities on both Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation and Robotic/Virtual Reality Therapy technologies. The purpose is to promote discussions and new hypotheses from accomplished researchers so that new discoveries can continue to be made.

Robotic Therapy, already in use for stroke rehabilitation, utilizes the functions of robots to perform a task that requires more fine movement than a human can do. Robots can be used to guide a paralyzed limb through movements in a very exact way that combines the person’s intended movement with the actual movement they are initiating, thus enabling them to complete the intended movement. Robots can help a paralyzed or disabled person practice a task that involves arm or leg movement, such as playing a musical instrument or walking.

“Imagine possibilities in the highly plastic brain of the baby or child with cerebral palsy,” says Dr. Mindy Aisen, Co-Chair of the seminar and one of the foremost authorities of Cerebral Palsy research. She adds, “It IS possible for children to grow up with more strength, coordination, and less spasticity and pain and this event will focus on how to remedy some of the immobilizing effects of cerebral palsy.”