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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.