Robotic and sensor technology: Can we change brain development and functional outcomes in young children with brain insults?

46^th World Congress on Nursing Care, Neurology and Neuromuscular Diseases

October 22-23, 2018 Madrid, Spain

Thubi H A Kolobe

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre, USA

Keynote: J Current Res: Int Medicine

DOI: 10.4172/2529-797X-C2-004

Abstract :

Brain insults occurring pre-, peri-, post-natal or during early infancy have lasting negative impact on functional independence. Many of the neuromuscular problems, educational disparities and societal participation limitations seen in older children and adults can be traced back to infancy. The period of infancy is also associated with dramatic changes in development and high synaptic connections in the brain further compounding the complexity and neurological sequelae following early brain insults. On the other hand, neuroplasticity research suggests that this period also offers the best opportunity for introducing targeted interventions that are likely to optimize development. The challenge for neurologists and rehabilitation professionals worldwide has been in determining or developing interventions that are effective can be provided in the first year of life and can yield sustainable results (dosing).

Biography :

Thubi H A Kolobe is the Jill Pitman Jones Professor of Physical Therapy in the Department of Rehabilitation Science at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre. She is a Co-Developer of the Test of Infant Motor Performance for preterm infants, a norm-referenced test that is used worldwide and has been translated into several languages. She has served as Chair of the Research Committee of the Section on Pediatrics, chaired a task force to develop a research agenda for the American Physical Therapy Association's Section on Pediatrics, served on a recent task force to revise the research agenda for the American Physical Therapy Association and has been appointed to serve on the Scientific Review Committee for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health. She has clinical experience in pediatrics and community-based interventions. She has completed her PhD in Pediatric Physical Therapy from Hahnemann University, Pennsylvania.

E-mail: Hlapang-Kolobe@ouhsc.edu