VA funds new high-tech rehabilitation center 
From: VA Research Currents - March 2005

A group of investigators at the Cleveland VA Medical Center will receive
$850,000 per year over five years from VA to create a new rehabilitation
center of excellence that will merge state-of-the art technologies to help
veterans with spinal cord injury, limb loss and other serious disabilities.
The center will build on research at the existing Cleveland Functional
Electrical Stimulation (FES) Center, established by VA in 1991. 

According to Ronald Triolo, PhD, executive director of the new Advanced
Platform Technology Center, the initiative will bridge the gap between
technologies being developed for general use and the specific needs of
disabled veterans. 

"The work of the APT Center will be to apply the creativity and advancements
we see every day in consumer product technology to the needs of our
veterans," he said. 

Early priorities of the center will include sensory and implanted control of
prosthetic limbs; sensors for monitoring various biological functions; and
accelerated wound healing. The researchers expect to incorporate novel
biocompatible materials, innovative microelectromechanical devices, and
nanotechnology. 

For more information on existing work at the Cleveland FES Center visit
http://fescenter.case.edu.

Ronald Triolo
http://www.metrohealthresearch.org/hvrcfacultybios.html#triolo