This grant provides partial support of a workshop entitled "Adults with Cerebral Palsy: A Workshop to Define the Challenges of Treating and Preventing the Secondary Musculoskeletal and Neuromuscular Complications in this Rapidly Growing Population." The sponsor of the workshop is the United Cerebral Palsy Research and Educational Foundation (UCPREF). Funding from the National Science Foundation will help support one session on engineering approaches for cerebral palsy rehabilitation. The workshop will be held prior to the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia on September 16th & 17th, 2008.
Intellectual Merit:
The purpose of the special session on engineering is to begin to explore the usefulness of new cutting edge technologies in neurorehabilitation such as virtual reality and haptics, robotics and functional electrical stimulation to treat loss of mobility and functionality in cerebral palsy patients during middle and later life, as well as draw attention to these areas for future clinical research.
Broader Impacts:
The broader impacts arise from the objectives of this workshop which include dissemination to the research and medical communities. CP effects the general population, and as such, improvements in technology may have beneficial effects to the overall health of the nation.
UCPREF is the nation's principal non-government agency sponsoring research directly relevant to cerebral palsy. In its 50 year history, UCPREF has provided more than $40 million for research grants to support approximately 500 research projects in the biomedical and clinical sciences and bioengineering. The goal of UCPREF is to revolutionize the treatment and prevention of CP with rigorously proven new cutting edge therapies.
