Humanoid robots in rehabilitation therapy – chance and challenge

Öffentlicher Abendvortrag
Foto: privat

Neuro-disabilities, neurological conditions that cause everyday life disabilities are on the rise globally, affecting more and more members of our societies. Neurorehabilitation is the medical field that promotes functional recovery after brain damage and reduces burden of disease. It does so mainly by specific restorative training led by therapists. Training needs to be both specific and intense to help the brain to re-learn lost functions. Human therapeutic resources are, however, limited, while at the same time neuro-disabilities could be reduced more effectively by more specific re-training being offered. 
Nowadays, digital applications and algorithms influence our lives increasingly. Even humanoid robots are starting to enter the stage. Could humanoid robots help to fill the gap between the need for therapy and what can effectively be offered? Could they act like professional and experienced therapists? Will stroke survivors accept or want humanoid robots to be their healthcare providers? What do we risk if we start to think this way? Are there even implications for the human condition?
The talk wants to give an introduction to the topic and provide impressions about the robot-based therapy developed by the regional research group 
E-BRAiN [Evidence-based Robot-Assistance in Neurorehabilitation] that is now offered to stroke survivors for the first time.

Thomas Platz received his medical school training at the University of Heidelberg and the Duke University (Durham, U.S.A), and obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the McGill University (Montreal, Kanada). He received his doctorate (Dr. med.) from the University of Heidelberg (1990), and his habilitation (Dr. med. habil.) for Neurorehabilitation at the Free University Berlin (2002). He is apl. Professor at the University Medical Centre Greifswald (UMG). The neurologist was head of service of the neurorehabilitation and spinal cord centre BDH-Klinik Greifswald until 2018, and acts as medical director research there and as head of the neurorehabilitation research group at the UMG since then. He initiated and co-ordinates the regional research consortium E-BRAiN. Aside his research, he co-ordinates national and international guideline development and educational activities in the field of neurorehabilitation.

Moderation: Professor Dr. Karlhans Endlich

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Access to the lecture hall

Organizational information on the digital lecture
The Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg is offering this event live as a zoom meeting, in which viewers can also take part in the subsequent discussion with video contributions, too.

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Recording of the digital lecture
The digital lecture will be recorded so that it can be used in the college's media library. Only the speaker, his / her presentation and the moderator can be heard or seen in the recording. Video, audio or chat contributions are not recorded. A “REC” symbol at the edge of the screen informs the participants about the current recording.

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