Neural Engineering for Rehabilitation
1Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
2Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
3Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
4Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA
Neural Engineering for Rehabilitation
Description
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), up to one billion people suffer from neurological disorders, such as migraine, stroke, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. In 2010, the economic cost of brain-related disorders was estimated at € 798 billion in Europe and psychiatric diseases alone at $ 2.5 trillion worldwide, and it is expected to increase every year. Despite the serious situation and burden, unfortunately, there are little fundamental solutions for the treatment of neurological diseases. Consequently, demands for effective and efficient rehabilitation are increasing to help patients with neurological disorders restore impaired cognitive and physical functions. Neural engineering has played a crucial role in advancing neurorehabilitation technologies by not only providing better understanding of underlying mechanisms of nerve system but also developing novel assistive and rehabilitation tools. This special issue aims to share the current state-of-the-art trends and future directions in the field of neural engineering for rehabilitation, thereby encouraging the further development of neurorehabilitation technologies.
We invite researchers to submit original research articles, clinical studies, and review articles that contribute to the advance of neurorehabilitation technologies based on electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and/or other related physiological signals. Research related to the development of rehabilitation and assistive tools/methods/systems and investigation of their direct/potential effect on rehabilitation will be considered for publication in the special issue. The research does not necessarily have to be restricted to clinical trials or evaluations; we also welcome laboratory based studies that can be potentially used for neurorehabilitation in clinical practice.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Development and evaluation of assistive and rehabilitation tools/methods/systems (e.g., prostheses and exoskeleton)
- Brain computer interface/brain machine interface (BCI/BMI)
- Cognitive rehabilitation (e.g., neurofeedback and cognitive enhancement therapy/training)
- Robotic rehabilitation (e.g., robot-assisted gait training and robot-assisted upper limb rehabilitation)
- Myoelectric control: novel control algorithms and training strategies
- Electrical/magnetic stimulation for neurorehabilitation (tDCS, TMS, and FES)
- Neurorehabilitation based on multimodal approach (e.g., EEG + EMG and TMS + NIRS)
- Novel therapeutic approach
- Neuroplasticity