One in three people over the age of 65 falls yearly, and the implications of falls in older age are devastating on an individual and societal level. Mobility deterioration in older age is a multi-factorial process, involving sensorimotor, cognitive and emotional factors and limiting community participation. In the modern era, requirements for participation in the community are greater than before since they include technology planned by, and aimed for the young generation. This presents a series of challenges, but also opportunities, for older adults. The laboratory for Mobility in the Technological Era explores these challenges and opportunities by adopting a multi-faceted approach involving both laboratory and field exploration for understanding the mechanisms underlying mobility control and its deterioration in older age as well as in clinical populations, in order to promote the development of novel technologies for assessment and intervention.
Current and past studies at the lab are done in collaboration with faculty within University of Haifa (Dr. Rachel Kizony and Prof. Tamar Weiss, Occupational Therapy; Dr. Maayan Agmon, Nursing; Dr. Joel Lanir, Information systems) and other institutions in Israel and abroad, including New York University (Dr. Anat Lubetzky), Tel-Aviv University (Dr. Jason Friedman), Rambam hospital (Dr. Eyal Fruchter) and Sheba medical center (Pediatric Rehabilitation Department, Center for Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation).
The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art motion capture and sensing technologies, including:
· Xsens MVN Link system, an IMU-based high-end motion capture system providing seamless integration with virtual reality environments and high-resolution kinematics for gait and balance measurement.
· Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) for measurement of cortical activation during balance and gait (prefrontal cortex).
· HTC Vive Head-mounted display.
· Kinesis Gait, a portable clinical tool for measurement of spatiotemporal gait parameters.
Dr. Tal Krasovsky
I am a senior lecturer at the Department of Physical Therapy and a researcher at the Department of Pediatric Rehabilitation The Edmond & Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer. I have a BSc in Computer Science, a master’s degree in Physical therapy, and did my PhD in Rehabilitation Science (McGill University) with Prof. Mindy Levin. My post-doctoral research at the Department of Occupational Therapy (University of Haifa) dealt with the effects of age on the ability to perform dual-task walking using a functional task (texting).
My research deals with the interaction between movement, cognition and technology. I am interested in the effects of personal and environmental constraints on the ability of people to perform daily motor functions such as walking, and in the ability of technological solutions to modify this ability. In addition, I deal with the effects of neurological damage (TBI, stroke) on function across the life span.
Current students
Ibrahim Azzam
I graduated from The Physiotherapy Department at Tel Aviv University. Since then, I had worked in Reout Rehabilitation Center for two years and for the past nine years I have been working with orthopedic patients in AposTherapy center at the Emek Hospital. My research aims to investigate the effect of Total Knee Replacement on dual-task walking performance among older adults, In order to be able to understand rehabilitation more comprehensively for the elderly and address falls that may occur after the surgery.
Inbar Breuer
I am a pediatric occupational therapist working at the inpatient wards and intensive care units at Edmond & Lily Safra Children’s Hospital at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center. Currently studying for a master’s degreeinPublic Health in the field of Biostatistics (University of Haifa). My research deals with body scheme in children with Cerebral Palsy, and involves sensitivity analysis of the Hand Laterality Test.
Aya Gharra
I am a physiotherapist who graduated from Tel Aviv University since 2014. currently studying for a master’s degree in a Department of Physical Therapy at University of Haifa. I work in a rehabilitation daycare center with children on the autism spectrum in Haifa. My research aims to evaluate the effect of emotional content of text messages while walking on task performance (texting, walking) among young adults.
Past students
Moshe Aharoni
I am Moshe Aharoni, a certified physical therapist. My practice and interests are vestibular diagnosis and rehabilitation, virtual reality, psychosomatic treatment and cognitive-behavioural therapy. My research is assessing head kinematics, anxiety and function in people with persistent dizziness symptoms, while performing a dynamic balance task under altered visual stimuli.
Rawda Madi
I am a physical therapist with 19 years of clinical experience. My expertise is vestibular rehabilitation. My project involved investigating the feasibility of measurement of prefrontal cortex brain activation during walking.
Research projects
Attentional demands of sensory integration – a multi-site joint research project, in collaboration with Dr. Anat Lubetzky (NYU), investigating the cognitive and motor requirements of static and dynamic balance in virtual environments among people with and without vestibular symptoms.
Texting on a mobile phone as an ecologically-valid dual task – a collaboration with Prof. Tamar Weiss and Dr. Rachel Kizony (University of Haifa), investigating the ability of young and older adults to text on a mobile phone with an without mixed reality displays.
Using smartglasses as means to evaluate attentional demands of walking – the effect of mixed reality on dual task performance – a collaboration with Dr. Joel Lanir and Dr. Rachel Kizony (University of Haifa), aimed to evaluate dual-task costs of walking with smartglasses in different environments.
Cognitive balance control in people with anxiety – a multi-site research project, in collaboration with Dr. Eyal Fruchter (Rambam hospital), evaluating the neural and behavioral correlates of trait anxiety in health and disease, and the role of visual dependence in anxiety-related balance control.
Dual-task walking before and after Total Knee Replacement – A joint project with Prof. Nimrod Rosen at Ha’Emek hospital in Afula aims to investigate the effect of Total Knee Replacement on dual-task walking performance among older adults, In order to be able to understand rehabilitation more comprehensively for the elderly and address falls that may occur after the surgery.
The effect of emotional content on Texting while Walking performance in healthy young adults
In collaboration with Dr. Arik Cheshin (Head of the Department of Human Services, University of Haifa), evaluating the effect of emotional content of text messages while walking on task performance (texting, walking) among young adults.
Photo by Domingo Alvarez E on Unsplash
Google scholar profile
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Publications
- Liebermann, D. G., Krasovsky, T., Berman, S. Planning maximally smooth hand movements constrained to nonplanar workspaces. Journal of Motor Behavior, 2008, 40 (6), 516–531.
- Melzer, I., Liebermann, D., Krasovsky, T., Oddsson, L. Cognitive load affects lower limb force-time relations during voluntary rapid stepping in healthy old and young adults. Journals of Gerontology A: Biological sciences and Medical Sciences, 2010, 65A (4): 400-406.
- Melzer I., Krasovsky T., Oddsson L.I.E., Liebermann D.G. Age-related differences in lower limb force-time relation during the push-off in rapid voluntary stepping. Clinical biomechanics, 2010, 25 (10), 989-994.
- Krasovsky, T., Berman, S., Liebermann, D. G. Kinematic features of continuous hand reaching movement under simple and complex rhythmical constraints. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 2010, 20 (4), 634-641.
- Krasovsky, T., Levin, M. F. Toward a better understanding of coordination in healthy and post-stroke gait. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 24 (3), 2010, 213-224.
- Feldman, A.G., Krasovsky, T., Baniña, M.C., Lamontagne, A., Levin M.F. Changes in the referent body location and configuration may underlie human gait, as confirmed by findings of multi-muscle activity minimizations and phase resetting. Experimental Brain Research, 2011, 210 (1), 91-115.
- Hacmon, R., Krasovsky, T., Lamontagne, A. Levin, M. F. Deficits in intersegmental trunk coordination during walking are related to clinical balance and gait function in chronic stroke. Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, 2012, 36 (4), 173-181.
- Krasovsky, T., Baniña, M. C., Hacmon, R., Lamontagne, A., Feldman, A. G., Levin, M. F. Stability of gait and interlimb coordination in older adults. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2012, 107 (9), 2560-2569.
- Sibindi T.M., Krasovsky, T., Feldman, A.G., Dannenbaum, E., Zeitouni, A., Levin, M.F. Arm-trunk coordination as a measure of vestibulospinal efficiency. Journal of Vestibular Research – Equilibrium & Orientation, 2013, 23(4), 237-247.
- Krasovsky, T., Lamontagne, A., Feldman, A. G., Levin, M. F. Reduced gait stability in high-functioning post-stroke individuals. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2013, 109 (1), 77-88.
- Kizony, R., Weiss, P.L., Elion, O., Harel, S., Baum-Cohen, I., Krasovsky, T., Feldman, Y., Shani, M. Development and validation of tele-health system for stroke rehabilitation. International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 2014, 13: 361-368.
- Arzi, H., Krasovsky, T., Pritsch, M., Liebermann, D. Movement control in patients with shoulder instability: a comparison between patients after open surgery and non-operated patients. Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 2014, 23 (7), 982-992.
- Krasovsky, T., Lamontagne, A., Feldman, A. G., Levin, M. F. Effects of walking speed on gait stability and interlimb coordination in younger and older adults. Gait and Posture, 2014, 39, 378-385.
- Krasovsky, T., Weiss P.L., Kizony, R. A narrative review of texting as a visually-dependent cognitive-motor secondary task during locomotion. Gait and posture, 2017, 52, 354-362.
- Krasovsky T., Landa J., Bar, o., Ahoniska-Assa J., Livny, A., Tsarfaty, G., Silberg T. Functional plasticity in the absence of structural change: Apraxia and body scheme disorder 10 years after childhood brain injury. Journal of Child Neurology, 2017, 32, 505–511.
- Kizony, R., Zeilig, G., Krasovsky, T., Bondi, M., Weiss, P.L., Kodesh, E., and Kafri, M. Using virtual reality simulation to study navigation in a complex environment as a functional-cognitive task; a pilot study. Journal of Vestibular Research, 2017, 27, 39-47.
- Silberg, T., Druker, H., Gerner, M., Krasovsky, T., Berant, E M., Brezner, A. & Landa, J. Linking levels of self-discrepancies and family functioning among children with functional somatic symptoms: a preliminary study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2018, 1-9.
- Krasovsky T., Weiss P.L., Kizony R. Older adults pay an additional cost when texting and walking: effects of age, environment, and use of mixed reality on dual-task performance. Physical Therapy, 2018, 98(7), 549-559.
- Lubetzky, A. V., Wang, Z., & Krasovsky, T. Head mounted displays for capturing head kinematics in postural tasks. Journal of biomechanics, 2019, 86, 175-182.
- Krasovsky T., Bar O., Nachshon, U., Livny, A., Tzarfaty, G., Brezner, A., Landa, J. Despite Dystonia: Natural History of Delayed-onset Pediatric Secondary Dystonia. Brain Injury, 2019, 33(7), 952-958.
- Krasovsky, T., Weiss, P. L., Zuckerman, O., Bar, A., Keren-Capelovitch, T., & Friedman, J. DataSpoon: Validation of an Instrumented Spoon for Assessment of Self-Feeding. Sensors, 2020, 20(7), 2114, 1-11.
- Krasovsky T., Barak S., Silberg T., Yissar T., Brezner A., Landa J. (2019). Factors associated with gains in performance during rehabilitation following pediatric brain injury: growth curve analysis. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 2020, 99(4), 310-317.
- Krasovsky, T., Lubetzky, A.V. Archambault, P. Wright, W.G. Will virtual rehabilitation replace clinicians: A contemporary debate about technological versus human obsolescence. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 2020, 17 (1): 163.
- Krasovsky, Tal, Tamar Silberg, Sharon Barak, Etzyona Eisenstein, Neta Erez, Irit Feldman, Dafna Guttman, et al. “Transition to Multidisciplinary Pediatric Telerehabilitation during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategy Development and Implementation.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 4 (January 2021): 1484.
- Kirshner D, Kizony R, Gil E, Asraf K, Krasovsky T, Haimov I, Shochat T, Agmon M. Why Do They Fall? The Impact of Insomnia on Gait of Older Adults: A Case–Control Study. Nature and science of sleep. 2021;13:329.
- Krasovsky T, Shammah C, Addes A, Brezner A, Barak S. The Development and Evaluation of the Powered Mobility Function Scale (PMFS) for Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy. Developmental Neurorehabilitation. 2021 Jul 4;24(5):338-47.
- Lubetzky AV, Aharoni MM, Arie L, Krasovsky T. People with persistent postural-perceptual dizziness demonstrate altered postural strategies in complex visual and cognitive environments. Journal of Vestibular Research. 2021(Preprint):1-3.
- Aharoni MM, Lubetzky AV, Arie L, Krasovsky T. Factors associated with dynamic balance in people with Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD): a cross-sectional study using a virtual-reality Four Square Step Test. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. 2021 Dec;18(1):1-2.
- Krasovsky T, Keren-Capelovitch T., Friedman J., and Weiss P.L. “Self-Feeding Kinematics in an Ecological Setting: Typically Developing Children and Children With Cerebral Palsy.” IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering: A Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society 29 (2021): 1462–69.
- Roaldsen KS, Jørgensen V, Höfers W, Sällström S, Augutis M, Strøm M, Vege KM, Sørland K, Wahman K, Sunnerhagen KS, Bushnik T, Krasovsky T, Guttman D, Asante A, Hamdan E, Zakharova O, Trukhankinov Z, Qi Z, Yu-Xi Q, Ghatashah A, Yang Y, Genlin L, Sukhov R, Ertzgaard P, New PW, Stanghelle JK. Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation: a protocol of an international multicenter study (SINpedSCI). Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine (JPRM) (accepted, 2021).
- Höfers W, Jørgensen V, Sällström S, Vege K, Strøm M, New P, Bushnik T, Zakharova O, Krasovsky T, Gutman D, Ghatasha A, Liu G, Yang C, Yu-Xi Q, Wahman K, Sunnerhagen SK, Ertzgaard P, Sukhov R, Augutis M, Stanghelle J, Roaldsen K. Organization of services and systems of care in paediatric spinal cord injury rehabilitation in seven countries: a survey with a descriptive cross-sectional design. Spinal Cord (accepted, 2021).
- Lubtzky AV, Coker E, Arie L, Aharoni MH, Krasovsky T. Postural Control under cognitive load: Evidence of increased automaticity revealed by center-of-pressure and head kinematics. Journal of motor behavior (accepted, 2021)