On July 2nd, 2024 at 3.45 pm the seminar "Neurorehabilitation technologies: exploiting neuroplasticity for motor learning" will take place at DEIB Carlo Erba Room (Building 7).

Learning new motor skills or relearning lost motor skills can be facilitated by using neurorehabilitation technologies. Facilitation is based on exploiting the neuroplastic principles responsible for motor learning. My research focuses on developing said neurorehabilitation technologies, with special focus on functional electrical stimulation, biofeedback, and robotics. An overview of my research will be presented, and the possibilities and shortcomings of these technologies will be discussed.

Erika G. Spaich received the Bioengineering Degree from the National University of Entre Rios (UNER), Argentina, in 1998, and the Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Science and Engineering from Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, in 2004. She is an Associate Professor at the Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark. Her research interests are in the field of neurorehabilitation technologies for supporting people with neurological conditions or injuries to learn, re-learn, and recover motor functions, particularly gait, postural control, and upper-limb function. Her focus areas of research are functional electrical stimulation systems and rehabilitation robots to support gait rehabilitation and grasping of tetraplegic and hemiparetic patients, biofeedback, assistive technologies, assessment technologies, gaming technologies, and their combinations. Also, mechanisms that result on sensory-motor impairments and recovery after injury, including central pattern generators and neural plasticity. Dr. Spaich is the vice president of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS), and the Scientific Coordinator of the Network of Argentine Scientists in Denmark (Red CICAD). Dr. Spaich website is https://vbn.aau.dk/en/persons/espaich