Research Projects

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The goal of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, block-randomized clinical trial is to investigate the efficacy and potency of daily acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) combined with transcutaneous electrical spinal stimulation (tSTIM) and skill-based walking practice.

This study is being done to conduct a preliminary investigation into a new prosthetic microprocessor controlled ankle, called the Damping, Stiffness, and Repositioning (DSR) ankle. Participants will visit the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab 10-16 times over 9 weeks, each visit lasting approximately 3 hours, to perform a series of walking and mobility tests with both their own prosthetic ankle and the DSR ankle.

The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of using the Nomad P-KAFO in people who have had a musculoskeletal or neurological injury that has affected their ability to walk.

The Journal of Neurophysiology recently published a review by Adenike Adewuyi, MD PhD — a 2022 graduate of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) residency program — and her mentor, Colin Franz, MD, PhD, physician-scientist, at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. The review defines a clinical framework for evaluating patients with spinal cord injuries to determine their candidacy for nerve transfer surgery.

A new study published in the October 2022 issue of the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation from a research team led by SRAlab clinicians identified the cause of — and hope for a potential prevention of — nerve injuries in patients treated in the intensive care unit for severe COVID-19.

A team of scientists, led by researchers at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, has developed novel technology promising to increase understanding of how brains develop, and offer answers on repairing brains in the wake of neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases.

We are interested in monitoring patients' heart rates during group and individual rehabilitation sessions that focus on improving endurance.

In this study, we are looking to validate exercise and physical activity questionnaires compared to an activity monitor.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety, reliability, and effectiveness of the use of Harmony SHR in rehabilitation of the upper extremities in the inpatient stroke population as compared to conventional occupational therapy.