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Session 3: Quality of Life

Wenn Roboter und andere Assistenzsysteme im Gesundheitswesen und der Altenpflege eingesetzt werden, sind kritische technische Problemstellungen zu lösen und Fragen der Akzeptanz zu adressieren. Damit befasst sich Session 3 des Hightech-Summit – auf höchstem Niveau.

Folgende Wissenschaftler beschreiben den Einsatz von smarten Robotern im Gesundheitswesen.

Einen Überblick über diese besondere Art der kollaborativen Robotik gibt Prof. Dr. Sunil Agrawal, Columbia University, USA. Der international ausgezeichnete Experte für Roboter in der medizinischen Rehabilitation ist bekannt für seine Exoskelette, mit deren Hilfe Schlaganfallpatienten wieder gehen lernen.

Auf ähnlichem Gebiet forscht Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. med. h.c. Robert Riener, ETH Zürich, Schweiz. Er berichtet über die Interaktion von Mensch und Maschine in der Rehabilitation, konkret über die Nutzung von Exoskeletten.

Dr. Alex Mihailidis, AGE-WELL/University of Toronto, Kanada, hingegen referiert über den zunehmenden Einsatz von KI und Robotern in der Altenpflege und gibt einen Ausblick auf die Zukunft.

Eröffnet wird diese Session mit einem digitalen Grußwort von Klaus Holetschek, Bayerischer Staatsminister für Gesundheit und Pflege.

Die Speaker und Vorträge dieser Session

“Rehabilitation Robotics and Improving Everyday Human Functions”

Neural disorders, old age, and traumatic injuries limit the ability of humans to perform activities of daily living. Robotics can be used to characterize and retrain human neuromuscular responses. Columbia University Robotics and Rehabilitation (ROAR) Laboratory designs innovative robots and performs scientific studies to improve everyday human functions such as standing, walking, stair climbing, reaching, head turning, and others. Human experiments have targeted individuals with stroke, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and elderly subjects with various disorders. The talk will provide an overview of some of these robotic technologies and scientific studies performed with them.

Sunil K. Agrawal received a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 1990. He is currently a Professor and Director of Robotics and Rehabilitation (ROAR) Laboratory at Columbia University, located both in engineering and medical campuses of the University. Dr. Agrawal has published more than 500 journal and conference papers, three books, and 18 U.S. patents. He is a Fellow of the ASME and AIMBE. His honors include a NSF Presidential Faculty Fellowship from the White House in 1994, a Bessel Prize from Germany in 2003, and a Humboldt US Senior Scientist Award in 2007. He is a recipient of 2016 Machine Design Award from ASME for “seminal contributions to design of robotic exoskeletons for gait training of stroke patients” and 2016 Mechanisms and Robotics Award from the ASME for “cumulative contributions and being an international leading figure in mechanical design and robotics”. He is a recipient of several Best Paper awards in ASME and IEEE sponsored robotics conferences. He has successfully directed 35 PhD student theses and currently supervises research of 5 PhD students in ROAR laboratory. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal “Wearable Technologies” from Cambridge University Press. He was the Conference Chair for IEEE BioRob2020 organized in New York City.

Rehabilitation Robotics and Improving Everyday Human Functions

Neural disorders, old age, and traumatic injuries limit the ability of humans to perform activities of daily living. Robotics can be used to characterize and retrain human neuromuscular responses. Columbia University Robotics and Rehabilitation (ROAR) Laboratory designs innovative robots and performs scientific studies to improve everyday human functions such as standing, walking, stair climbing, reaching, head turning, and others. Human experiments have targeted individuals with stroke, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and elderly subjects with various disorders. The talk will provide an overview of some of these robotic technologies and scientific studies performed with them.

Hightech-Summit Session 3: Quality of Life

„Rehabilitation Intelligence”

The aging of our population is increasingly challenging our healthcare system, because of the shortage of funding and personnel. Robots and AI can help solving these challenges, for example, by performing interventions more accurately and faster, by taking over tasks, which are too exhausting for the medical staff or too dangerous for the patient. Robotics and AI can also help to predict and prevent certain diseases or disease symptoms. This talk provides an overview of current and future robotic systems applied to rehabilitation.

Robert Riener is full professor for Sensory-Motor Systems at the Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, and full professor of medicine at the University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich. His work focuses on the investigation of the sensory-motor interactions between humans and machines and the development of user-cooperative rehabilitation robots, exoskeletons, and virtual reality technologies. Riener is the initiator and organizer of the CYBATHLON, which was awarded with the European Excellence Award, the Yahoo Sports Technology Award and with two categories of the REIMAGINE Education Award. Riener has published more than 500 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles, 36 books and book chapters and he filed 26 patents. He has received 26 personal distinctions and awards. In 2018 Riener obtained the honorary doctoral degree from the University of Basel.

Rehabilitation Intelligence

The aging of our population is increasingly challenging our healthcare system, because of the shortage of funding and personnel. Robots and AI can help solving these challenges, for example, by performing interventions more accurately and faster, by taking over tasks, which are too exhausting for the medical staff or too dangerous for the patient. Robotics and AI can also help to predict and prevent certain diseases or disease symptoms. This talk provides an overview of current and future robotic systems applied to rehabilitation.

Hightech-Summit Session 3: Quality of Life

“The role of AI in Eldercare: Examples, Lessons, and the Future”

The field of AgeTech has been emerging for the past several decades, with the development of new technologies and approaches that can support older adults. These technologies range from simple devices and apps to more complex systems like smart homes and robotics. A key aspect in developing this field has been the establishment of consortiums and networks, like the AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence in Canada. This presentation will discuss the area of AgeTech, where the field currently sits, and more importantly where the field is going. It will also present examples of technologies that are currently being developed by the AGE-WELL network and strategies that are being established in Canada to help move AgeTech innovations to the marketplace and into the hands of those people who need these solutions—older adults and their caregivers.

Professor Mihailidis is the Associate Vice-President for International Partnerships at the University of Toronto, and the Scientific Director of the AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence, which focuses on the development of new technologies and services for older adults. He is a Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (U of T) and in Biomedical Engineering (U of T), with a cross appointment in the Department of Computer Science (U of T).

Professor Mihailidis has been conducting research in the field of technology to support older adults for the past 20 years, having published over 200 journal papers, conference papers, and abstracts in this field. Dr. Mihailidis is also very active in the rehabilitation engineering profession, currently as the Past-President for RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America). He was also named a Fellow of RESNA in 2014, which is one of the highest honours within this field of research and practice, and a Fellow in the Canadian Academy of Health Science (CAHS) in 2021 for his contributions to the health and well-being of older Canadians.

In 2022, Dr. Mihailidis was recognized by the UN as one of the Healthy Ageing 50 – 50 leaders working to transform the world to be a better place in which to grow older.

Professor Mihailidis received a B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Toronto in 1996, a M.A.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering in 1998 from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in Bioengineering (Rehabilitation Engineering) in 2002 from the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, Scotland).

The role of AI in Eldercare: Examples, Lessons, and the Future

The field of AgeTech has been emerging for the past several decades, with the development of new technologies and approaches that can support older adults. These technologies range from simple devices and apps to more complex systems like smart homes and robotics. A key aspect in developing this field has been the establishment of consortiums and networks, like the AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence in Canada. This presentation will discuss the area of AgeTech, where the field currently sits, and more importantly where the field is going. It will also present examples of technologies that are currently being developed by the AGE-WELL network and strategies that are being established in Canada to help move AgeTech innovations to the marketplace and into the hands of those people who need these solutions—older adults and their caregivers.

Hightech-Summit Session 3: Quality of Life

Session-Chair

„Quality of Life” wird von Prof. Cristina Piazza, Assistenzprofessorin am Lehrstuhl für Anwendungen in der Medizin (TU München), als Session Chair moderiert.


Technologien haben das Potenzial, Menschen zu unterstützen und unsere Lebensqualität zu verbessern. Es ist jedoch unerlässlich, Technologien so zu gestalten, dass der Nutzen für die Vielen und nicht für die Wenigen im Vordergrund steht. Fragen der sozialen Gerechtigkeit und Gleichberechtigung müssen in den Mittelpunkt der Technologieentwicklung rücken, insbesondere in Bereichen wie KI und Robotik. Dazu müssen wir die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Sozialwissenschaften und der KI-Forschung fördern und soziale, ethische und politische Fragestellungen bereits bei der Technologieentwicklung integrieren.