Neurorehabilitation research at Southampton
Here at the University of Southampton's Faculty of Health Sciences we are committed to being at the leading edge of neurorehabilitation research in order to improve quality of life for service users who have suffered a neurological impairment.
Our neurorehabilitation research falls under the remit our Rehabilitation and Health Technologies research group and is led by Professor Ann Ashburn and Dr Sara Demain.
Professor Ashburn has a particular interest in the management of fall events among people with stroke and people with Parkinson's disease and in exploring, at a behavioural level, the mechanism of balance control, assessment and training of balance.
Her recent neurorehabilitation research funding has included grants from the Parkinson's Disease Society, the Stoke Association and the Human Tissue Authority (HTA). She was recently awarded a £2.2 million grant from the HTA to conduct a clinical trial of a personalised exercise programme aimed at improving balance, walking, strengthening muscles and preventing the inability to move.
Dr. Sara Demain is a physiotherapist who explores the Human Technology Interface in Rehabilitation, using “technology in its broadest sense to include all interventions, services and processes that are used in rehabilitation.
Her neurorehabilitation research priorities are to understand the impact of rehabilitation technologies on those who provide and those who receive rehabilitation, and to develop interventions that are effective, user-friendly and minimally disruptive.
All of her research is interdisciplinary, and sees her work closely with rehabilitation professionals, engineers, sociologists and psychologists. In particular, Dr. Demain works with neurological conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, dementia and Parkinson's disease.
Right now there are three distinct strands to neurorehabilitation research at Southampton. These are: Balance, falls and mobility; Maximising rehabilitation engagement; and Upper limb neurorehabilitation.
About the Author
You can discover more about Neurorehabilitation Researchhere at the University of Southampton on our Rehabilitation and Health Technologies research group website. The address is www.southampton.ac.uk/rht
Submitted on: 2014-09-28 12:53:42