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